I Provide Protection: Side Story Specials!
by PuffedGill
Summary: A compilation of one-shots or short stories based off my MHA OC Fanfic, "I Provide Protection". The extra tidbits and side stories of Hitomi Kanetsukabe and her adventures with Class 1-A. Infrequent updates.
1. Happy Halloween!

**Notes: This was written under the impression you already read the main story, so it doesn't go into great detail over Hitomi's appearance or personality traits. I'd suggest reading the main story to get a better understanding of her character, but if you don't want to, or want to read this first, the most basic things you need to know are that:**

**-Hitomi has blue hair and silver eyes (which you'll see in the pictures I've drawn)****-Her personality is pretty timid, shy, and easily embarrassed, and she doesn't think very highly of herself, both appearance and skill-wise. She's very sweet, though, and loves her friends very much and would do anything to keep them safe.****-Her quirk is force fields.**

* * *

**A/N: This shit is _23 pages_ on Google Docs. This is the longest chapter I've ever written in my _life._**

**Lots of Bakutomi this chapter! This takes place after the Shie Hassaikai Arc, which we haven't reached in the main story _or_ the anime yet, but there's no spoilers for either. All you need to know is that Hitomi's crush on Bakugou has been fully realized by this point, and her interactions with him are built on established feelings.**

**Enjoy this 5000 word one-shot aldfghfaghjafkjh**

**Art - Add ****/21n0avhdzdvo to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"You heard me! A Halloween party!"

The 1-A girls all stared at Mina as she pumped her fists, the pink girl bouncing excitedly.

"Sounds fun!" Tooru exclaimed, her clothes shifting. "Since it's not like we can stay out after curfew to go trick-or-treating or go anywhere, that sounds like a great idea!"

"Right? Right?" Mina cheered. "We'll decorate the dorm, eat _lots_ of sweets, and everyone will wear costumes! It's not Halloween without them, after all!"

"How delightful!" Yaoyorozu smiled, clapping her hands together. "Halloween is on a Friday as well, so we wouldn't be tired during school the next day!"

"Right? It all works out!" Mina grinned, placing her hands on her hips. "I thought I'd tell you guys a week or two in advance, so everyone would have enough time to get a costume! And I've got so many ideas for what we can do at the party, too!"

"A Halloween party, huh…?" Hitomi mused, placing a finger on her lips.

"So it's decided?" Mina asked, looking specifically at their vice rep.

Yaoyorozu nodded, getting up from her seat. "Of course! I'll talk to Iida, but I'm sure he'll agree to the idea. Knowing him, he'll see it as another bonding experience."

"Alright!"

* * *

Over the course of the next two weeks, Class 1-A's dorm was slowly littered with various Halloween decorations. Orange and black streamers, ghosts, skeletons, witches. Anything Halloween you could think of, it was there.

Hitomi had thought the idea of a Halloween party was a _great_ idea, and honestly couldn't wait for it.

As excited as she was, though…

"Eh?!" Mina exclaimed, puffing her cheeks out at the bluenette. "Are you serious, Hitomi?!"

Hitomi twiddled her fingers, looking away sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Mina…! I've just been distracted lately… Homework, training, all that jazz. I _did_ go out to look for costumes a few times, but I just never found one I would've liked to wear…"

Mina huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "And you didn't think to tell me until the _day of the party?_"

Hitomi continued twiddling her fingers, feeling her face flush. "It didn't really have the chance to come up until now…"

Mina sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Oh, Hitomi, Hitomi…" Her eyes suddenly lit up in realization, grabbing Hitomi's arm to drag her to her bedroom.

"I just remembered! Lucky for you, I've got an extra costume!"

"An extra…?" Hitomi repeated, trailing after her.

"Yup!" Mina chirped, pulling off her glove to use her keycard to unlock her bedroom. "I'd already decided I wanted to dress up as an animal, and I ended up buying two costumes since I couldn't decide." Mina shoved the door open, the two of them stepping inside. "After I tried them both on though, I decided the other one just wasn't what I was going for."

Hitomi watched as Mina crouched by her closet, rummaging through it. Mina was wearing what Hitomi could only guess was some sort of lion costume. She was wearing a furry crop coat, with an orange denim skirt, lion ears, and paw gloves that reminded Hitomi of the Wild Wild Pussycats.

Mina suddenly grinned, pulling a bag out. "It's a good thing I kept this! We're the same size, and I think this kind of thing fits you a lot better than me anyway."

She handed Hitomi the bag, heading to the door. "Just put that on, I'll be waiting outside." Mina wagged a finger at Hitomi, a stern look in her eyes. "I'm not gonna let you leave until you have the costume on! Everyone's doing it, so you gotta participate too!"

Hitomi waved her off as Mina opened the door, stepping outside.

"Right, right…"

She watched as Mina closed the door, before finally turning to the bag, peering inside. All she saw was cloth, as the costume was folded, but there was also a pair of cat ears resting on top.

Hitomi sat down on Mina's bed, reaching inside the bag.

_Being a cat sounds okay with me…_

She pulled the cat ears out, reaching in again to feel her hand hit something metal, the object making a small ring.

Hitomi raised a brow, grabbing the clothes and pulling it out. She unfolded it, holding it up.

_What._

Hitomi felt her face flush, staring at the dress Mina had bought.

_Is this a costume, or _cosplay_?!_

It was a frilly muted navy purple dress, with a sweetheart neckline and a small bow wrapping around the waist. It had long, loose sleeves, and a stripe lining the hem of the skirt to complete its look.

Hitomi, dropped the dress into her lap, staring at it embarrassedly.

_Now I get what Mina meant when she said it wasn't what she was going for…!_

_But… for _me _to wear this?!_

_I'll look stupid in something as frilly as this._

Hitomi turned to the bag, seeing there was still more left inside. She grabbed it, realizing the costume also came with stockings, a tail, and a choker with a bell.

Hitomi's eyebrows twitched as she scrutinized the entire outfit.

_This looks like the kind of stuff you'd see at a _maid cafe.

_And Mina thought it'd suit _me_?!_

Hitomi felt herself blush, before knocking on the door caught her attention.

"Hitomi? You need any help?" Mina asked, her voice muffled from the other side.

Hitomi spluttered, nearly dropping the choker. "Uh, no, it's okay! I can do it myself…!"

She turned back to the costume, her eyebrows furrowing in self-consciousness.

_Would I _really _look good in something like this…?_

"Okay, well, better get moving!" Mina called from the door. "Party's gonna start soon!"

Hitomi sighed, feeling herself relent.

_...Guess I've got no other choice._

…

Hitomi opened the door slowly, her face a bright red.

Mina squealed, holding her hands up to her cheeks. "Oh my gosh, I was right! You look _so_ cute!"

Hitomi's face flushed an even darker red, feeling herself hold back a whine. "Are you sure…? It's embarrassing…"

"No, no, Hitomi," Mina tutted. "It suits you! Actually, hold on."

She grabbed the hair-tie that was holding Hitomi's hair in place, pulling it off before securing Hitomi's hair in a ponytail.

"There we go!" Mina exclaimed, grinning at her work. She grabbed Hitomi's arm, the girl stumbling after her as they ran to the elevators. "Now come on, the party's starting!

* * *

Hitomi hid behind the wall once they'd stepped out of the elevators, watching as Mina ran to the Bakusquad. She pulled down her skirt, her face flushing as she stared at everyone's costumes.

Kirishima was dressed as an oni from Japanese folklore, Kaminari as a devil, complete with horns, wings and a tail (he was even holding a trident, jesus Kaminari how extra can you be), while Sero looked to be a mix between a scarecrow and a mummy.

Hitomi's eyes drifted to see Bakugou, the sight making her halt.

He had a long green trench coat, the coat ripped at the hem, with a white t-shirt tucked into the waist of his baggy jeans. There was a dog collar around his neck while a handcuff was clamped around his wrist, a single chain hanging off the both of them.

But that wasn't what had made Hitomi stop.

He was wearing wolf ears and a big, fluffy tail.

Hitomi spluttered, taking a spit take even though nothing was in her mouth. She slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter.

_HE LOOKS SO CUTE!_

Her wheezing and sputtering had caught the attention of the group, Hitomi quickly hiding back behind the wall in hopes they hadn't seen her.

_I can't let them see me in this…!_

Hitomi pulled her skirt down again, cursing at its short length as she felt her face burn.

_I'll just hide out in my room. Yeah, I'll do that. Missing out on a fun party is _totally _worth not dealing with the embarrassment…_

"Hitomi?"

The bluenette jolted, her shoulders tensing up as she realized Mina had appeared right next to her.

"What are you hiding for, Hitomi?" she heard Kirishima exclaim. "Show us your costume!"

"Uh- um- no, let's not-"

Mina grabbed Hitomi's hand, trying to pull her out from the wall. "Come on, you look so cute!"

"No, Mina…!" Hitomi stuttered. "It's embarrassing…"

"What's there to be embarrassed about?" Mina asked, looking confused. "Your costume really suits you!"

Hitomi's breath caught, the girl holding a hand up to her chest as she felt her heart beat rapidly. "I…" She felt Mina's stare boring into her, her resolve breaking.

Hitomi finally sighed, pulling away from the wall. She stepped out slowly, clasping her hands together in an effort to hold her skirt down, and looked down at the ground as her cheeks were a bright red.

The Bakusquad grinned, all collectively thinking the same thing as Hitomi fidgeted.

_Cute._

Kirishima laughed as she approached the group, patting her on the head. "You look great, Hitomi!"

Sero shot her a thumbs up. "Looks nice!"

Mina grabbed her by the shoulders, looking proud. "Isn't she? Isn't she?"

"A cat girl, huh…?" Kaminari teased, an airy smile on his face. "That's unexpected of you, Hitomi!"

Hitomi grumbled, shooting Kaminari a pouty look.

_CUTE!_

The bluenette's eyes drifted to Bakugou, finding she couldn't help but wonder what he thought. She looked to see he was giving her a blank stare, feeling herself deflate slightly. _He probably thinks I look silly._

Hitomi's eyes caught sight of his wolf ears, laughter bubbling up in her throat. She turned away, slapping a hand over her mouth and choking on her own spit as the others all looked at her in concern.

"Hitomi?" Sero exclaimed, beginning to fret over her. "You okay?!"

Hitomi waved him off, her voice muffled under her hand. "It's nothing!" she choked out. She shook her head once she'd finally calmed herself, making her way to the kitchen. "I'm hungry, so I'm gonna get food."

_If I keep looking at Bakugou, I'm gonna end up laughing…!_

_He looks _way _too cute, oh my god…_

* * *

"I call BS," Hitomi deadpanned, staring at Midoriya.

The curly-haired boy spluttered, nearly dropping his cards. "Um, are you sure, Kanetsukabe-san…?" he mumbled, scratching his cheek and looking away. He was practically sweating bullets. "If you're wrong, you'll have to take the whole stack, and it's looking like a lot right now…"

Hitomi leaned forward, giving him such a hard stare that Midoriya almost wanted to cower behind his sheet ghost costume. "I call BS," she repeated.

Midoriya gulped, before sighing, turning over the card he'd just placed down to reveal it was a two, and _not_ a seven like it was supposed to be.

"Aha!" Hitomi cheered, smirking. "Now _you_ need to take the stack, Midoriya."

"Ha! Eat shit, Deku!" Bakugou exclaimed as the freckled boy grabbed the stack defeatedly.

"How are you doing that?!" Uraraka asked, huffing. "You keep getting it right every time."

"It's simple, Uraraka. You read the opponent, look for any cues. Manipulate them into playing into your hands."

"Huh?"

"That's just how it is when you play games with Hitomi-chan," Tsuyu mused, placing a finger on her chin.

Tooru slumped over, fiddling with her cards. "There's just no beating her."

Mina pouted, giving Hitomi a glare. "You should've seen her when she played Uno with us back at I-Island. She was an absolute _menace_!"

Hitomi chuckled, leaning back.

Jirou stared up at the ceiling in deep thought. "Now that I think about it, she _did_ keep winning when we played Old Maid back at the training camp…"

"How often has she won?" Ojiro asked, leaning forward.

"Every. Single. Time," Tooru deadpanned.

Hitomi laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh, come on now, Tooru… I'm sure it wasn't _every_ time."

"Yeah, right!" Tooru argued, waving her sleeve at the bluenette. "Five rounds of Uno," she began, "three rounds of Old Maid. Every single time, _you won_! Even right now, you only have, what, three cards left?! You're going to win _again_! There's no winning for us when you're involved. In fact…

I don't think there's a single person in this room that can beat you!"

"Is that a challenge, invisible girl?"

The group turned to the low growl, seeing a murderous aura coming off Bakugou in waves.

"Yeah," Tooru replied, unfazed. "If you're going to lose to anyone in something, it's this."

Bakugou scowled, his bloodthirsty aura only growing. "Heh…? _Fine then._"

He turned to Hitomi, giving her a harsh glare. "_Kanetsukabe._ I challenge you…

TO SEE WHO'S THE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION AT CARD GAMES!"

…

"BS," Sero said determinedly.

"Hm?" Hitomi hummed. "You call BS on me?"

Sero nodded. "There's no way you have that exact card with only one left! And we've already reached that card four times, so you can't possibly have it!"

Hitomi stared at him for a moment, before she sighed, looking defeated. "Sero…" She grabbed the card, everyone leaning in in anticipation as she slowly turned it over.

"...Looks like somebody else lied."

"_MOTHERFUCKER!_" Bakugou screamed.

Uraraka threw her cards up into the air, pulling her witch hat in frustration. "_NO!_ YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"

"Looks like I win again," Hitomi laughed.

"Four times…" Midoriya mumbled, a faraway look in his eyes. "Kacchan lost to Kanetsukabe-san _four times_…"

"SHUT IT, DEKU!"

"I told you all," Tooru shrugged, "there's no beating her."

"This is starting to get boring," Mina pouted, setting her cards down. "It's no fun if Hitomi keeps winning." She suddenly clapped her hands together, her gloves making a small "_pat_" sound. "Time for something new!"

"Like a new game?" Ojiro asked.

"No, no," Mina tutted, wagging a finger. "We all know Hitomi's gonna win if it's cards."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Bakugou screeched.

"Admit it, Bakugou," Kaminari sighed, resting his head in his hands. "She's already beaten you four times in a row. What's a few more?"

Bakugou clenched his jaw in irritation, a murderous glint in his eyes.

Hitomi could feel another laugh bubbling up in her chest. She covered her mouth, looking away.

_He's like an angry puppy with the wolf ears and tail!_

"I've got a new idea!" Mina exclaimed, before downing the last of her apple cider. She ran to the sink, giving the bottle a quick rinse before she ran back to the group's circle, setting it down in the middle.

"Seven minutes in heaven!" Mina exclaimed, pointing at the broom closet.

_HUH._

Midoriya flailed, his sheet costume waving around. "_Seven minutes in heaven?!"_

"Sounds interesting," Tsuyu said, a finger on her chin.

"I'd rather not," Tokoyami said, getting up from the floor. "I'll be on the couches; the horror movie marathon I was waiting for will be coming up soon and I don't want to miss it."

"Have fun with that, then!" Mina waved, glancing around the circle. "So… we all playing?"

Hitomi saw Uraraka splutter, her cheeks looking redder than usual as the brunette dared a glance at Midoriya.

Hitomi felt herself smirk.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Mina declared at the group's silence.

"Eh?!" Hitomi stuttered.

_Wait-!_

_I got distracted and forgot to say no!_

Mina ran off, leaving the group to ask the others if they wanted to play.

Hitomi fidgeted with her hands, staring at the ground.

_But… it can't be _that _bad can it…?_

_It's not like we're expected to do anything… 'sexual'..._ _you can just sit and talk._

She glanced around the group, seeing everyone that looked to be participating.

Jirou, Tooru, Ojiro, Kaminari, Tsuyu, Sero, Midoriya, Uraraka, and then there was also Mina. They were all people she could handle staying in a cramped closet for seven minutes with.

_Wait a minute._

Hitomi glanced next to her, her cheeks flushing as she realized in horror Bakugou was _still sitting next to her._

_He's playing?!_

"We got some more players!" Mina cheered, bounding back to the group. Behind her were Aoyama, Yaoyorozu, and… was that Iida and Todoroki?!

"Iida, you're playing?" Kaminari asked, surprised.

The class rep adjusted his glasses, the lenses glinting from the overhead light. "I'm here to supervise. Teenagers such as ourselves should not be participating in any overly intimate acts, but at the same time," he started waving his hands, looking stern, "spending some time alone together is a great way to learn more about each other on a personal level! It'll be a bonding experience!"

Hitomi saw a mischievous glint in Mina's eye, realization dawning on her.

_She fooled him!_

"I'm surprised Kirishima's not playing," Kaminari remarked, leaning back.

Mina pouted, glancing back at the couches. "He said he wanted to watch the horror movie marathon with Tokoyami and the other guys. Something about the 'manly spirit of terror', or whatever."

"Then… Todoroki, you're playing?" Uraraka asked, looking bewildered.

The heterochromatic boy shrugged, his cape jostling slightly. "I've got nothing else to do. I'm not really one for horror movies."

Mina clapped her hands together, plopping down in the circle as the others followed after her. "But never mind that! Let's play!"

Everyone stared at the bottle in silence.

"So… who's first?"

"Uh…"

"You go first."

"No, you can go first."

"Really, I insist."

"You do it!"

"No, _you!_"

"Okay, everyone, settle down!" Mina exclaimed, before an argument could break out. "I'll go first since I suggested it. Sound good?"

The group made noises of affirmation, watching in anticipation as Mina spun the bottle.

"Yaomomo!" Mina exclaimed once the bottle had stopped. "Looks like you're coming with me~!" She sprang from the floor, pulling Yaoyorozu to the broom closet. "Someone time us!"

"On it," Tooru said, pulling out her phone.

Mina pushed Yaoyorozu into the closet, giving the group a wave. "See you in seven minutes!" she singsonged, before pulling the door shut.

…

Mina pushed the closet door open, walking out of the cramped space in defeat.

"What'd you guys do?" Sero asked, his fingers that were drumming his knee stopping.

"I wanted to talk about girly things," Mina pouted, dropping onto the floor, "But…"

"I asked her how her studies were going," Yaoyorozu finished, holding her hands in her lap.

"C'mon, Yaomomo!" Mina whined, running her paws through her hair erratically. "This is a party! We shouldn't be thinking about _school!"_

"Party or not," Yaoyorozu scolded, "passing your classes is still important."

"Booo…"

Kaminari snickered. "Well, anyways, I wanna go next!"

"Go, Kaminari, go!"

The blonde leaned forward, spinning the bottle. The group watched as it continued turning, before finally stopping on someone.

Kaminari jumped from his place on the floor, swinging his arms under Jirou's and carrying her to the closet. "Let's go, Jirou!"

"Hey, don't drag me like that!"

...

The game continued on for a while, where some people even had to go into the closet twice. So far, the pairs had been Mina and Yaoyorozu, Kaminari and Jirou, Ojiro and Tsuyu, Tooru and Ojiro, Uraraka and Todoroki, and Aoyama and Mina.

Aoyama followed Mina out of the closet once their turn had finished, tapping her chin in thought.

"Who hasn't gone yet…?" she muttered to herself, before she caught sight of Midoriya's sheet. "Ah, Midorin!" she exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "You haven't gone yet, have you?"

The green-haired boy spluttered, Hitomi noticing his cheeks flush. "Eh?! Um- no, I haven't… The bottle still hasn't landed on me, so…"

"Ah, then it's your turn!" Mina exclaimed, plopping down on the floor and shoving the bottle into his hands. "No backing out!"

_Glad that's not me…_ Hitomi mused, watching as Midoriya gulped.

He tentatively set the bottle and the floor, giving it a light spin. It only made a full circle about four times, before finally stopping.

"_Eh."_

"Ochako!" Tooru cheered, leaning forward. "You get to go in the closet with Midoriya!" she chanted.

"Eh?!" Uraraka stuttered, Hitomi watching as she flailed her arms around. "Wait- but I already went-"

"The bottle landed on you, so you gotta go!" Mina exclaimed, grabbing Midoriya first and then Uraraka. They both spluttered as they were pushed towards the door. Uraraka didn't miss Hitomi's shit-eating smirk.

_Damn you, Hitomi!_ Uraraka thought to herself, before the broom closet door was slammed shut.

"And their seven minutes starts now," Tooru stated, placing her phone back down on the floor.

Hitomi leaned back, staring at the night sky outside the window. She unconsciously started fiddling with the bell attached to her choker, the object making a small ringing noise.

_Maybe this'll finally move things along in how they feel about each other._

_As for me, though…_

Her silver eyes drifted to Bakugou, seeing he was pointedly looking away.

Hitomi looked back at the sky, a bitter feeling in her chest.

_Fat chance._

…

Uraraka stepped out of the closet, trying to subtly fan her face in an attempt to get rid of her blush.

"What'd you guys do~?" Mina asked.

Midoriya ran a hand through his hair sheepishly, his cheeks a slight red. "Um… we just talked about our work studies… that's all…"

"Are you sure?" Hitomi quipped, leaning forward as she glanced at Uraraka slyly. "Your faces look pretty red."

They both flinched, Midoriya continuing to run his hand through his hair while Uraraka twiddled her fingers.

"We-We're sure!" Uraraka stuttered. "We _really_ didn't do anything else! It was just cramped and stuffy in there, y'know?!"

"No, I don't actually."

"In that case," Mina grinned, shoving the bottle into Hitomi's hands, "why don't you go then, Hitomi? You still haven't been in the closet, right?"

"Eh?!" Hitomi fumbled with the bottle, her cheeks flushing. "Uhm- no…"

_DAMMIT!_

_MY TEASING BACKFIRED!_

"Spin it, Hitomi!" Kaminari cheered, pumping his fist.

"Spin it!"

"Spin it!"

They all chanted for her to spin the bottle, making Hitomi sigh in exasperation.

She placed the bottle on the floor, giving it a whirl.

_Well, with this many people, the chances of it falling on _him _are pretty low…_

The group watched as it continued to spin, Hitomi feeling her heart begin to beat faster in anticipation. It continued to rotate for a few more seconds, before finally slowing to a stop, pointing at the person next to her.

Hitomi felt her heart clench in horror.

_Oh, __**bitch.**_

"Let's get this shit over with," Bakugou scoffed, getting up from the floor and making his way to the closet.

"Eh?!"

"C'mon, Hitomi!" Mina chanted, pulling Hitomi up from the floor. "No backing out!"

"I- wait- hold on-"

Hitomi continued stuttering as Mina pushed her towards the closet, trying to fight against the pink girl. Unlucky for her though, she was trying to fight the strength of one of the most athletic people in class.

"Mina- wait-"

"Come on now, 'Tomi," Mina said, raising a brow. "No need to be shy! It's just a closet, after all!"

"But-!"

She was cut off as Mina pushed her through the doorway, tripping on her own two feet. Hitomi heard the door shut behind her as she stumbled forward, straight into Bakugou's chest. They both yelped as they fell to the ground, Hitomi hearing a broom hit the floor.

"Ow, what the fuck…"

Hitomi tensed, realizing her face was nestled in Bakugou's chest as she felt his voice rumbling in his throat.

She pulled her head back abruptly with an apology on the tip of her tongue. "Sorry-!"

_What._

Hitomi was greeted by the sight of Bakugou's face barely a centimeter away. She could feel his breath fanning her face, making her blush.

They stared at each other for several long seconds, frozen in place.

"...Get off me," Bakugou mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hitomi's eyes widened, realizing the compromising position they were in. She was laying on top of him, his hands hovering over her waist while one of his legs was nestled in between hers, under her skirt.

_WHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCK-_

Hitomi squealed, rolling off him abruptly.

"SORRY!"

She scooted away as far as she could as Bakugou sat up, feeling her heart beating rapidly as she looked away. Her face was practically _burning._

Hitomi heard Bakugou tch, seeing him run his hand through his hair in the darkness of the closet.

"I knew this was a stupid idea…"

"...Sorry," Hitomi muttered.

"Whatever."

Hitomi tried stretching her legs out, unable to because of the cramped walls and the vacuum that was in the way. She then tried pulling her legs to her chest, only for her skirt to ride up and threaten to show her… unmentionables. Hitomi felt herself blush, cursing herself for procrastinating finding a costume she liked and getting stuck with Mina's instead.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed, getting frustrated. "I can't sit…!"

Hitomi kept trying to adjust her legs, Bakugou raising a brow at the sight of her silhouette moving about. He continued to watch as Hitomi shifted around, before rolling his eyes.

"There's a simple solution, Moon Face," he scoffed.

"What do you-"

Bakugou grabbed her ankles, swinging them over as he heard Hitomi yip, the girl jolting slightly. He moved her legs so they were stretched across his lap, before leaning back against the shelves as he huffed.

"_There._"

Hitomi spluttered, Bakugou noticing her pull her skirt over her legs slightly.

"You can relax, idiot," Bakugou grumbled as he crossed his arms. "I'm not that scummy grape-shit, and it's too dark for me to see anything anyway. I wouldn't be able to see anything even on accident, don't be stupid."

He heard Hitomi's voice rumble in her throat in a low growl, feeling her legs moving on top of his as she leaned forward.

"S-shut up!" she stuttered. "I didn't even wanna wear this short skirt anyway!"

"Then why the fuck did you pick that costume?"

"I-I didn't!" Hitomi protested. "I couldn't find one I liked so Mina lent me her extra one...!"

Bakugou huffed, rolling his eyes.

They fell into silence, the only sound being the faint, muffled voices of their friends outside.

Hitomi squirmed, feeling embarrassed at how close they were sitting near each other.

"So…" she mumbled, breaking the silence in an effort to keep her heart from racing. "Your costume, then…? Did you pick it?"

She saw Bakugou loll his head to the side, his mouth in a slight scowl. "No. Kirishima made me wear this stupid thing."

"Of course he would," Hitomi laughed, fiddling with her hair. "I… I like it, though. It… looks good on you."

_HITOMI SHUT YOUR STUPID MOUTH RIGHT NOW._

"Hah…?"

"The whole 'werewolf' deal," Hitomi continued, feeling herself blush. "It suits you."

_SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP-_

"...And the ears and tail make you look cute."

_MOTHERFUCKER, HITOMI YOU _**STUPID** _MOTHERFUCKER _**SHUT UP RIGHT NOW**_!_

Hitomi's mouth finally clamped shut, seeing Bakugou fiddle with his wolf ears out of the corner of her eye as he grumbled to himself.

The way he seemed to sheepishly play with his ears made him look-

"You just look really cute," Hitomi blurted, before slapping her hands over her mouth in mortification.

_**MOTHERFUCKER!**_

Hitomi was practically sweating bullets, her eyes darting around frantically in fear of how Bakugou would react.

"Sorry!" she stuttered under her hands, feeling her face flush. She tried leaning back, only to hit the shelves with the back of her head with a loud "_thud_" sounding.

Hitomi slumped over, cradling the back of her head in pain. "Ow…"

_And now he thinks you're an idiotic klutz too._

She rubbed the back of her head in an attempt to soothe the pain, before sitting back up as she took a deep breath.

"What I mean to say," she said, her voice cracking, "is that you look… _nice._ That's all."

She stared at the vacuum cleaner, feeling her face was still warm with embarrassment.

"...You don't look so bad yourself."

Hitomi's head snapped towards him in shock.

"What…?"

Bakugou scowled. "...I _said_," she heard him grumble, his jaw clenching, "you don't look… _stupid_, in your costume, like grape-shit did."

Hitomi stared at him in disbelief, feeling her face grow warmer and bunching up her skirt in her hands. "I… uh...Thanks," she mumbled. She suddenly recalled the costume Mineta had decided to wear, the thought making her burst into laughter.

"Is what I said fucking _funny_…?" Bakugou snarled, feeling himself get angry.

Hitomi covered her mouth, trying to subdue her laughter as she held a hand up sheepishly. "No- no, it's not that!" she choked out, some giggles breaking out. "It's just- you reminded me of Mineta's costume!"

Bakugou's eyes narrowed, staring at her. "And…?"

"His- His costume!" Hitomi laughed, her shoulders shaking. "He's hobbling around as a literal _cluster of grapes…!"_

Bakugou watched as Hitomi continued to laugh, recalling the sight of Mineta's attire.

Unconsciously, he let out a small snort.

"Yeah, he _does_ look pretty fucking stupid," Bakugou retorted.

"He… he…" Hitomi stuttered through her giggles, "he's stumbling around in that costume and it looks _so funny_!"

Bakugou stared at Hitomi as she snickered, and even though it was still dark, the low light that seeped through the crack of the doorway was enough to let him see her face.

Her cheeks were a slight pink, with her lips in a small smile as her eyes were crinkled from her laughter.

Unwillingly, a single thought bubbled up in his mind.

_Cute._

Bakugou looked away, fighting the urge to hold his chest.

Hitomi's giggles finally started to settle, Bakugou hearing her take a deep breath as her legs shifted in his lap.

She sighed, readjusting her skirt. "...What'd you think of everyone else's costumes?"

Bakugou tapped his knee, the chain attached to his handcuff making a small clinking noise. "I don't really give a shit," he replied, staring at Hitomi's legs resting in his lap. "They're just fucking clothes."

Hitomi hummed, Bakugou seeing her straighten her stockings. "I guess that's true. But…" Hitomi held a finger to her chin in thought. "I suppose if anyone's gonna win the costume contest, it'll be Todoroki. His vampire costume looked really good on him."

Bakugou could feel himself scowling. "_As if_," he scoffed, feeling miffed. "_I'm_ gonna be the one to win."

"You didn't even pick your own costume."

"So what? I'm still gonna beat that half-and-half bastard."

"Hmm…"

The two of them were suddenly bathed in light, both of them shielding their eyes as Mina appeared in the doorway.

"You're seven minutes are up!" Mina exclaimed, placing a hand on her hip. "Didn't you guys hear us calling you?"

"Oh… Already?" Hitomi said, moving her legs off Bakugou's lap. "That was pretty fast…" She got up from the floor, smoothing her skirt down as Bakugou followed her out of the closet.

"So what'd you guys do~?" Mina teased, giving them a smirk.

"Nothing worth talking about, Raccoon Eyes," Bakugou said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Then why were Hitomi's legs in your lap~?"

Hitomi spluttered, while Bakugou rolled his eyes.

"B-Because it was cramped in there!" Hitomi stuttered. "There was no way for me to sit without my stupid skirt riding up, so I just stretched my legs across his lap instead…!"

Mina leaned in close, a sly smile on her face. "You _sure_ you guys didn't do anything in there~?"

"I'm sure!" Hitomi choked out, holding her hands up in surrender. "All we did was talk about everyone's costumes…!"

Mina scrutinized her for a few more moments, before she noted Bakugou's indifferent expression. Mina sighed in defeat, pouting.

"And just when I thought something interesting happened…"

Hitomi grumbled to herself, letting out a huff as she sank back into her spot in the circle while Bakugou plopped into the spot next to her.

Somehow, for the rest of the game, the bottle didn't land on her _or_ Bakugou again even once.

* * *

**A/N: Kind of an abrupt end, but this was long enough as is already and I didn't really have any other plans for the chapter. XP**


	2. Bakugou's Hydro Flask

**A/N: A silly crack one-shot.**

**This was based on some promotional art my friend showed me on Twitter, and we both laughed for a solid five minutes at the fact that Bakugou and Hitomi would be hydro flask-using solidarity.**

**And then she told me to write it.**

**Add ****/0438vsi4ikx**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL to see the promo art!**

* * *

Hitomi collapsed onto the grass, sweaty and tired. She wiped her brow, panting as she tried to catch her breath.

The Bakusquad was out at the P.E. Grounds, having a training session together by the suggestion of Sero and Kirishima. They'd been training for nearly two hours now, and had finally decided to take a break.

Kirishima plopped onto the grass beside Hitomi, sighing as he wiped his face with his shirt.

"Kirishimaaaa…" Hitomi groaned, her arm outstretched towards him.

"Hm?"

She pointed towards her bag, which was on Kirishima's right. "Please, pass me my water bottle…"

The redhead smirked, reaching into Hitomi's bag. "Just call it what it is," he teased. "A hydro flask."

"No." Hitomi bumped his leg with her fist, her arms weak from their training session. "If I do Kaminari will never stop saying 'sksksk' around me."

Kirishima chuckled, handing Hitomi her water bottle. Hitomi eagerly grabbed it, sitting up and chugging it.

A few feet away she heard Mina's voice.

"Hey Bakugou, is that…"

Hitomi turned her attention to the ash blonde, choking on some of her water and slapping a hand over her mouth.

"...a hydro flask?!"

Bakugou scowled from his place on the ground, turning away. "The fuck about it?!"

Hitomi continued to cough, feeling her eyes water as she felt laughter start to bubble up in her chest. Next to her she heard Kirishima start laughing hysterically, while she saw Sero bend over, holding his stomach as he cackled.

Bakugou growled, clenching his jaw. "The fuck is so funny?!"

Hitomi's shoulders trembled, the girl making a small "snrkk" noise as she stared at Bakugou.

"You…" she choked out, Kirishima and Sero still laughing beside her.

She burst out laughing, holding her stomach. "You have a hydro flask!"

Some tick marks appeared on Bakugou's face, his grip tightening on the bottle as Hitomi, Kirishima, and Sero continued to laugh at him.

"HUH?!"

Kaminari stopped in front of him, shooting him a smirk as Mina said, "Honestly Bakugou, you'd make a great VSCO girl!"

Bakugou threw a hand towel at Mina's face harshly, making her stagger back slightly. "FUCK OFF!"

"Are you going to start saying 'sksksk' Bakugou?" Hitomi said in between giggles, which only made Kirishima and Sero laugh harder. "Gonna start saying 'and I oop' with Kaminari?"

Kirishima and Sero were practically rolling on the floor with laughter, while Hitomi's eyes were watery from trying to keep it in.

"FUCK YOU!" Bakugou screeched. "THAT SHIT'S ANNOYING AS FUCK!"

Kaminari ruffled Bakugou's spiky hair, earning himself a death glare. "Come on, it's fun!"

Bakugou swatted Kaminari's hand away, his expression practically murderous. "_I'll __**kill**_ _you._"

He turned to Hitomi, whose face was red from how hard she was laughing. "AND YOU!" he screamed, pointing at her. "YOU'RE A FUCKING HYPOCRITE, YOU HAVE ONE TOO!"

Hitomi waved him off, taking a deep breath in an attempt to quell her laughter. "But it's not surprising that I have one," she said in between snickers. "_You_ though…"

Some more tick marks appeared on Bakugou's face, his hands twitching in anger. "There's nothing funny about having one!" he shrieked. "It keeps my water cold like I fucking need it to!"

Hitomi took another deep breath, patting her chest as Kirishima and Sero finally started to calm down. "I know," she finally breathed out. "It's just fun to tease you."

Bakugou growled, taking a sip of his water as Kirishima sighed, wiping his eye. "Bakugou as a VSCO girl, huh?" he chuckled. He and Sero both snickered again at the thought, which made Bakugou scoff.

"How long have you had that?" Mina asked him, tilting her head to the side. "Is it new? I've never seen you with it before, so…"

Bakugou wiped his mouth, staring at Hitomi's own pink hydro flask. "I've had it for two years," he grumbled. "It's good to have when hiking."

Hitomi's eyebrows raised into her hair, looking surprised. "Two years? And there's not even a single dent?!"

Bakugou scowled, turning his head away. "Fuck no. I paid good money for this shit, and I'm not gonna ruin it like you did with your clumsy ass."

Hitomi held her hydro flask close to her, looking defensive. "Hey! It's only _one_!"

"But Hitomi, didn't you tell me you dropped it a week after you got it?" Kaminari suddenly asked.

Hitomi slumped over, looking gloomy.

"...Don't remind me," she mumbled defeatedly.


	3. Merry Christmas!

**A/N: This is a non-canon Christmas one-shot. Probably. Maybe I'll change my mind about its status in the future. 😛**

**Hhhhghh. Auuughh. Good god help me.**

**This thing is _57_ pages on Google Docs. This thing is _15,024_ words. This holds the record for the LONGEST THING I'VE WRITTEN EVER. I started writing this thing two weeks ago. Good lord. This is what I get for trying to cram in as many suggestions from Instagram as possible.**

**Some notes! (_IMPORTANT!_):**  
**-Takes place after Hitomi has wholly accepted her romantic feelings.**  
**-Maybe Bakugou's feeling something too? ;)**  
**-My other two OCs, who you may not know about if you aren't caught up with the main story, are featured in this fic. They are Nari (blonde hair, you'll see) and Yoshiho (auburn hair).**  
**-Context about their personalities and relationships with Hitomi! :D Nari is outgoing and energetic, and is Hitomi's childhood friend, practically seeing her as family. Yoshiho is aloof and reserved, and was a Shiketsu student Hitomi befriended at the provisional license exam.**  
**-I tried my absolute hardest to finish drawing screenshots for this fic in time, staying up till 3 AM two nights in a row since I'd be away on a trip by the time this goes up, and unfortunately could not finish everything I had planned. I'll include the WIPs just so they don't go to waste, and hopefully finish them and update this chapter once I get back from my trip.**  
**-There is a _shit ton_ of Bakutomi here. A lot of the suggestions on Instagram were about the pairing specifically, so I delivered.**

**Art (Please check it out!) - Add ****/29443yzwe1d to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi let out a huff, seeing her breath in the cold air.

She watched as a few of her classmates made dashes for the ski lift, while others simply stayed behind, either playing in the snow or chilling out at the ski lounge, among other things. It was currently winter break, and Yaoyorozu had decided to take the class on a trip for Christmas.

Iida had proposed that the class have a get-together for the winter season, suggesting it would be another great bonding experience. Yaoyorozu, of course, made the offer that they go on an all-expenses paid ski trip that would be handled by her family.

And that was how Class 1-A ended up at a high-class ski lodge.

_How bourgeois of her…_ Hitomi mused.

She gripped her skis, watching as most of the Bakusquad had boarded the ski lift already, effectively leaving her behind.

Hitomi didn't mind, though.

Because she didn't know _how_ to ski. Sure, she could learn, but she wasn't in the mood right now.

All she wanted to do was mess around in the snow.

So that's what she did! She left her skis back at the lounge, instead making snow angels, building a snowman with Uraraka and Tsuyu, she even got into a small snowball fight with the Dekusquad.

"I'm gonna get you, Kanetsukabe-san!" Midoriya yelled from behind his snow fort.

Hitomi peeked over the wall of her snow fort she'd made with Uraraka and Tsuyu, seeing a snowball heading straight for her face. On instinct, she made a force field, the snowball splattering against it before quickly beginning to melt.

"Nice, Hitomi!" Uraraka exclaimed, flashing her a thumbs-up.

"Wait!"

The three girls poked their heads out from behind the wall, seeing Iida waving his hand at them from the boys' fort.

"No quirks allowed, Kanetsukabe-kun! Yours is much too convenient!"

"Ehhh?!" Hitomi called back, puffing her cheeks out. "What about _you_ guys?! You're letting Todoroki create snowballs for you with his quirk instead of just making them yourself!"

"Wha-?!"

The girls saw Iida look behind him, hearing him yell, "Todoroki-kun, have you been doing that this whole time?!"

"I thought you already knew."

The girls saw Iida sigh as he shook his head, about to turn back to face them before he was hit in the face with a snowball Tsuyu made.

"Got him!" she exclaimed.

Midoriya retaliated with a snowball of his own, the girls ducking behind their fort as it whizzed over their heads.

They went back and forth, chucking snowballs at each other and avoiding them by hiding behind their snow forts.

Hitomi was laughing the whole time, brought to tears as Midoriya fell over from a snowball she threw at him. After about 10 more minutes or so, they finally decided to stop, as Tsuyu needed to go back inside to warm up.

Hitomi sighed in satisfaction as she regrouped with the boys, waving goodbye to Uraraka since she'd decided to accompany Tsuyu back to the lounge.

"Are you guys gonna ski or anything?" she asked them.

Iida pushed up his glasses. "Possibly in an hour or two. As class rep it's my job to watch over everyone else, but once Yaoyorozu-kun's done skiing I'll likely go snowboarding."

"What about you, Midoriya, Todoroki?"

Midoriya scratched his head, looking sheepish. "I would, but… I still need to learn how."

"Ah, don't be embarrassed about that, Midoriya! I do too! It's just like when we went ice skating, we'll learn!"

Midoriya chuckled lightly. "I guess… skiing's way different from ice skating, though. But you're right!"

"Hey, on that note…" Hitomi turned to Todoroki, clasping her hands together. "Speaking of learning, Todoroki, do you think you could teach us?!"

Right as he opened his mouth, Todoroki was covered head-to-toe in snow, effectively silencing him.

"Bakugou?!"

"Kacchan…!"

As it turns out, Bakugou had come to an abrupt stop in front of them, angling his snowboard to kick up snow and causing Todoroki to be drenched in it.

"Bakugou-kun!" Iida gestured, Todoroki shaking the snow off of himself. "Be more mindful of others when you're snowboarding!"

Bakugou clicked his tongue, crossing his arms. "Yeah, right! _You're_ the ones that need to stay out of the way! You shouldn't even be at the very edge of the path, idiots!"

Hitomi sighed, shoving her hands in her pockets. "I guess he's right," she huffed. "We _are_ pretty close…"

"About your question, Kanetsukabe," Todoroki started, the group turning their attention to him. "We can do it later. I'm hungry, so I'm actually gonna head inside to get something to eat."

"Ah… is that so?" Hitomi tilted her head to the side, looking contemplative. "Then, Iida, Midoriya, I heard from some other tourists that there's this trail that's great for sightseeing, wanna check it out?"

Iida pushed up his glasses again. "As I said earlier, I need to stay and monitor our classmates. You and Midoriya-kun are welcome to go on ahead, though."

"Hah?" Bakugou scoffed, his eyes narrowing. "Why the fuck would you wanna see something alone with _Deku_?"

Hitomi puffed her cheeks out at him. "I wanna see the trail and I don't wanna be alone, dummy!"

Bakugou scowled, but Hitomi ignored him, turning to Midoriya. "Well, Midoriya? Wanna see it?"

Midoriya blinked, looking as if he had been preoccupied with something. "Oh! Uh, sure, sounds great. We can go."

Hitomi cheered, grabbing his arm and pulling him along.

She didn't notice the way Bakugou's eyes widened, his hand raising slightly as if to stop her, before he hesitated, pulling his arm back.

The others did, though. Midoriya looked over his shoulder as Hitomi dragged him to the trail, taking in his childhood friend's bothered expression.

With years of knowing Bakugou under his belt, even if he _had_ bullied him, Midoriya was able to read Bakugou in a way others couldn't. There were a lot of things you'd pick up or notice after knowing someone for more than a decade, after all. The average bystander would've thought that was just Bakugou's resting bitch face, but there was something in Bakugou's eyes that Midoriya hadn't seen much of.

Was that… _jealousy?_

Midoriya glanced at Hitomi briefly, the bluenette completely oblivious to the stare Bakugou was giving her.

_Ah._

He got it.

Midoriya and Bakugou made eye contact, Midoriya shooting him the most reassuring smile he could muster.

_Don't worry. I wouldn't take her away from you._

Bakugou's bothered expression faltered slightly, Midoriya hopeful he'd gotten his message across before following Hitomi to the trail.

…

"Wow, look at how smooth the snow is!" Hitomi exclaimed, admiring the trees coated in snow. "It's practically sparkling…"

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Midoriya laughed.

"Midoriya, do you like the snow?"

"Huh? Well, I suppose so. Since we live near the coast, snow is more rare, so it's always a spectacle whenever it happens."

"Has it snowed in Musutafu before?!" Hitomi exclaimed, surprising Midoriya slightly.

"Eh?! Well, maybe five times or so, if I'm remembering correctly."

Hitomi sighed, clasping her hands behind her back. "Lucky. Where I lived back in America there was no chance of it snowing _at all._"

"Where _did_ you live?"

Hitomi hummed, staring at the sky as their snow boots crunched against the blanket of white. "Well, I'm assuming you don't know the names of the states, right?"

Midoriya shook his head, prompting Hitomi to continue.

"You know Hollywood, though, right? To put it simply, I lived a few hours away from there."

"Hollywood?" Midoriya repeated, before his lips turned up in a smile. "That's cool, Kanetsukabe-san! I've never lived anywhere outside of Japan, and I think it's great you're bilingual."

Hitomi laughed slightly, smiling cheekily at him. "I'm trilingual, actually."

"Eh?!" Midoriya exclaimed. "Wait, then what's the third one?"

Hitomi had a mischievous look in her eyes, shrugging. "Not telling!"

Midoriya moved to hold his arms, rubbing them. "That's cold, Kanetsukabe-san."

He shivered slightly, letting out an exhale. "Kanetsukabe-san, I've actually been wondering something."

"Hm?"

"You told me before that your quirk generates heat, right? Is that why you don't seem as affected by the cold?"

Hitomi smiled, scratching her cheek. "Oh, you noticed, didn't you?" She pulled her hand away, putting it back in her pocket. "Yeah, you're right. My mom's quirk is actually 'Heat Wave', which speaks for itself. She's able to keep herself warm thanks to her quirk, and the fact it can generate such high temperatures means she can handle heat no problem too. It's an aspect that became a part of my quirk."

"If you're using it right now, how come your eyes aren't glowing?"

"I'm not… _using_ it, per se," Hitomi laughed. "It's kind of more like a side effect of my quirk, I suppose. My eyes only glow when I raise the temperature rapidly. This is more subtle."

Midoriya sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Man, I never have my notebook on me when you actually explain your quirk… I really still need to write my notes down for it."

"You're free to ask me anytime, Midoriya! I don't mind explaining it."

"I wouldn't want to burden you…" He trailed off as he heard the loud sounds of crying, his eyes widening in concern. "Do you hear that?!"

Hitomi and Midoriya glanced at each other for a moment before dashing towards the source of the noise, their boots crunching against the snow. The wails got louder and louder, before the two of them finally came across a young child huddled up against one of the trees.

"Mama…! Mama…!" the little girl cried, tears cascading down her face.

Hitomi and Midoriya approached her slowly, Hitomi crouching down in front of her. "Hey… what's wrong?"

The girl opened her eyes, staring at the two of them before throwing herself into Hitomi's arms. "I-! I lost my mama…!" The little girl hicced, sobbing into Hitomi's jacket. "I'm lost, I- I didn't know how to get back! I didn't know what to do…!"

Hitomi patted her back soothingly, glancing up at Midoriya.

"Her mom's probably looking all over for her. We should get her to the authorities, since we've got no idea how to find her," Midoriya told Hitomi, the bluenette nodding in reply.

She let go of the little girl, moving to hold her hand as she got up from the ground.

"Don't worry!" Midoriya exclaimed, shooting the little girl a bright smile. "We're gonna get you back to the lodge safe and sound!"

The little girl's eyes shone with hope-filled tears. "R-Really…?"

Midoriya nodded, grabbing her other hand as the three of them began to walk towards the end of the trail.

"Everything's alright!" he assured her. "We'll get you back to your mom no matter what. It's what heroes would do, after all!"

…

"MAMA!"

Midoriya and Hitomi watched as the little girl broke into a run for her mother, jumping into the older woman's arms.

"Thank goodness… I was so afraid I lost you…" the mother mumbled, patting her daughter's hair. She caught sight of Midoriya and Hitomi, making her way over to them.

"You two, you helped bring Miyuki back, didn't you?" The mother smiled at the two of them, tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much."

"It's no problem, ma'am!" Hitomi exclaimed, holding her hands up shyly. "We're happy to help."

"No, I really mean it," the woman stated. "I don't know what I would've done if you and your boyfriend hadn't found her."

Hitomi and Midoriya's stomachs both dropped at her words.

"BOYFRIEND?!" Midoriya screamed, his voice echoing through the lounge. The lounge went silent at his outburst, causing him to slap his hands over his mouth.

Hitomi finally felt her brain start working again, blushing slightly as she shook her head at the woman. "You're mistaken, ma'am! We aren't together, we're just friends…!"

The woman wiped the tears from her eyes, laughing sheepishly. "Oh, I'm so sorry! That was a rude assumption on my part." She readjusted her daughter in her arms, smiling softly at them. "Really, though. Thank you."

Midoriya and Hitomi gave her a blank wave goodbye as she left, still flustered over her presumption. After a few moments, they glanced at each other, bursting into giggles.

"How embarrassing," Hitomi laughed, wiping her eyes.

"Yeah, I didn't expect that…" Midoriya sighed, his stomach rumbling. "I'm gonna head over to Uraraka-san and the others. Need something to eat."

"Okay, Midoriya," Hitomi chuckled. "See you later."

They then split, heading to opposite ends of the lounge. As Midoriya made his way over to his other friends, Bakugou brushed past him, bumping his shoulder. They both stopped, Midoriya peering over his shoulder to see Bakugou giving him a glare. The ash blonde scoffed, turning away to head back outside as realization dawned on Midoriya.

Bakugou had witnessed their exchange with the woman, and now was probably even more jealous of him than before.

Midoriya turned to continue towards where his friends were, a plan already beginning to form in his mind.

If Bakugou was still jealous, Midoriya had an idea of what he could do to relieve it.

…

Hitomi plopped into the seat across from Nari, a freshly baked cookie in hand.

"Look at you, having fun in the snow," Nari deadpanned.

Hitomi waved her off, taking a bite of her cookie as Nari pouted at her. "You could always come outside with me if you want, y'know."

Nari whined, leaning over the table and splaying her arms across it. "You know I can't do that!"

"I don't know why you wanted to come so bad when you _know_ the cold is bad for the springs in your legs. You're supposed to be the responsible one here."

Nari wailed, banging her fists against the table in a childish manner. "You keep telling me about how Yaoyorozu-san keeps taking you out on all these fancy trips, traveling together with your classmates and bonding. It's starting to get lonely in Musutafu while you keep leaving to go places!"

"Remind me why I'm here again," Yoshiho sighed, crossing her arms.

Nari pulled her face off the table top, a sulky look in her eyes. "I didn't want to be the only one that didn't know Hitomi's class that well, Yoshiho! You and me, we're comrades as outliers of Hitomi's class!"

"Yoshiho, you really didn't have to come," Hitomi laughed sheepishly. "I know Nari can be pretty overbearing-"

"Hey!"

"-so I'm sorry you got dragged along."

Yoshiho ran her fingers through her hair, looking disinterested. "I don't mind, I guess. It's a chance for me to learn things about the famous UA students up close, since our schools are rivals and all…"

Hitomi hummed, returning to eating her cookie.

When Hitomi had told the two of them about Yaoyorozu's plans to take them on a trip, Nari had practically begged her to take them along, telling Hitomi she was "tired of Hitomi having so much fun without her."

Hard as it was to admit, Hitomi hadn't been spending as much time with Nari ever since UA implemented their dorm system. Sure, she could visit her childhood friend at the boba shop she worked at, but there was no more hanging out at each other's place, no more sleepovers, no more lounging around together for hours on end. Not to mention, since she lived with her classmates, she was spending more time with them instead.

So Hitomi gave in, and asked Yaoyorozu if she could bring Nari along. She'd asked for Yoshiho to come along as well, as she didn't want the Shiketsu student to feel left out, and saw it as a chance for the three of them to spend more time together in person.

Even though they'd been brought along on the ski trip, though, neither of them had spent a minute in the snow.

For Nari, she really didn't _want_ to, as the cold temperature may result in freezing the metal springs in her legs up. The chance of it was low, especially because she had clothes specifically designed to keep them warm, but Nari opted not to take that risk. She wasn't really one for cold weather, anyway.

As for Yoshiho, Yoshiho had told Hitomi she wasn't really in the mood to be outside in the snow, but Hitomi knew it was just an excuse for her to stay with Nari. Yoshiho was an athletic person, so she probably would've loved to go snowboarding, but the Shiketsu student found staying inside to keep Nari company was more appealing instead.

Hitomi found it adorable how hard Yoshiho was trying to mask how much she cared.

Hitomi crumpled up her napkin, getting up from her chair. "Well, since I've had my snack, I'm gonna head back outside. I still haven't skied yet, so I'm gonna go do that."

Nari sighed, placing her chin in her hands. "Of course… Have fun, Hitomi."

The bluenette hesitated, staring at her best friend's downcast expression. "Nari…"

"Hm?"

"No one can replace you, okay? So… don't worry about it."

Nari's eyes widened, the blonde springing up from her seat and tackling Hitomi in a hug.

"I love you, Hitomi!"

Hitomi staggered slightly, patting her back. "Yes, I love you too…" She peeked over Nari's shoulder to see Yoshiho was covering her mouth, the Shiketsu student's shoulders trembling as if she was trying to suppress a laugh.

Nari pulled back, her hands resting on Hitomi's shoulders. "Thanks, Hitomi. I guess I really needed to hear that."

Hitomi smiled back at her. "Of course. No one can replace my childhood friend, after all." She stepped back as Nari took her hands off her shoulders. "Well anyways, I suppose I should get going if I still want time to-"

"Kanetsukabe."

Hitomi turned around, seeing Bakugou standing behind her, two pairs of skis in hand.

"Yes, Bakugou?"

The ash blonde clicked his tongue. "Are you going back outside to ski?"

Hitomi tilted her head to the side, confused on why he was asking. "Yeah, I was actually just about to-"

She was cut off as Bakugou shoved a pair of skis into her hands, realizing that they were the ones _she_ had rented.

"Come on," Bakugou scoffed. "If I'm gonna teach a beginner like you, it's gonna take a few hours."

He turned away, beginning to make his way to the door as Hitomi's face flushed.

"Huh?! Wait, _what_?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Bakugou called over his shoulder. "If you want to learn, you need to get a move on before it gets dark!"

"Eh?! W-Wait, why are you-" Hitomi was shushed as she felt Nari elbow her back, seeing a sly look in her best friend's orange eyes.

"He's gonna teach you, is he?" Nari whispered, her lips turning up in a smirk. "Just the two of you? Quite romantic, isn't it~?"

Hitomi spluttered, her grip tightening on her skis. "Wha-!"

"Moon Face!" Bakugou yelled, already waiting by the door. "Hurry it up!"

Hitomi's blush deepened, feeling Nari grip her shoulders as she was pushed towards the ash blonde.

"Have fun, Hitomi," Nari whispered in her ear as they approached.

"I- wait…"

"Keep the make out sessions to a minimum though, okay?"

Hitomi yelped as Nari shoved her towards Bakugou, nearly tripping over her own two feet had Bakugou not caught her. Hitomi stumbled back, her face a deep red. "S-Sorry…!"

Nari smiled, clapping her hands together.

"Take care of her, okay Bakugou-san?" Her eyes suddenly glinted, the aura around her darkening. "Or you'll have hell to pay."

Bakugou scowled, flipping her off. "You think I'm incompetent, you fucking asshat?! Nothing's gonna happen to her, Pudding Head!"

"Pudding…?"

Bakugou grabbed Hitomi's arm, pulling her out the door. "Now c'mon, Moon Face. We've wasted enough time standing around."

Nari waved as they headed to the slopes, sighing in satisfaction once they'd disappeared from view.

"She's grown so much," Nari hummed once Yoshiho had stopped beside her.

"Has she really?"

Nari nodded, clasping her hands together behind her back. "Mhmm. She was a lot shyer when we were kids, and when she moved to America, she told me it was hard for her to make friends. It made me feel glad that she always turned to me for comfort despite the fact we lived so far away from each other, so I suppose I got a bit jealous when she started getting along so well with her classmates."

Nari scratched her cheek, laughing sheepishly. "Pretty selfish of me, right?"

Yoshiho crossed her arms, looking deep in thought. "I wouldn't say it's selfish, exactly. More like… you wanted to look out for her, I guess."

…

Bakugou trudged towards one of the smaller hills, Hitomi in tow.

He couldn't believe he was listening to _Deku_ of all people.

"_Kacchan, can I talk to you?"_

_Bakugou scowled, shooting him a glare from his seat. "Whaddya want?!"_

"_Um…" Midoriya sighed, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. "What that woman said earlier, it was a misunderstanding. I promise me and Kanetsukabe-san didn't do anything on the trail."_

"_Hah?" Bakugou rolled his eyes, turning away. "Why the fuck would _I _care about that shit?"_

_Midoriya stared at him, his eyebrows raising into his hair. "You… wanted to spend some time alone with Kanetsukabe-san, didn't you?"_

_Bakugou choked on air, shooting his former childhood friend a harsh glare. He felt his cheeks warm slightly, but blamed it on the cold. "WHY THE _FUCK _WOULD YOU THINK THAT, YOU DAMN NERD?!"_

_Midoriya shrank back slightly, scratching his head. "When Kanetsukabe-san was asking Todoroki-kun to teach her to ski… you stopped him from answering by throwing snow on him."_

_Bakugou huffed, turning his face away. "So what?! Like I said earlier, you guys were in the way!"_

_Midoriya smiled, a determined look on his face. "But… when Kanetsukabe-san took me with her to the trail… you wanted to stop her, didn't you?"_

_Bakugou spluttered, his ears turning red. "So? It doesn't matter!"_

"_Kacchan, if you want… I can ask Todoroki-kun not to teach her to ski, so you can do it instead. That's what you wanted to do when you interrupted us, wasn't it? You wanted to offer to teach her."_

_Bakugou shot him a glare, clenching his fist. The two of them were left in silence for a few moments, until Bakugou finally huffed._

"_Do whatever you want," Bakugou growled, getting up from his seat. "I'm gonna teach her regardless of what you do. This doesn't mean I'm listening to you, you damn nerd!"_

_Midoriya nodded, an encouraging glint in his eye. "Do your best, Kacchan!"_

_Bakugou brushed past him, beginning to walk away. "Whatever, Deku. You better do something about Uraraka while I'm gone, because watching you two dance around each other all the time is starting to get sickening."_

_Midoriya spluttered, his face turning bright red. "Uraraka-san?!" he exclaimed, waving his hands. "What do you…"_

"_You know damn well what I mean, nerd." Bakugou shot him a shit-eating smirk, making his way to the table where Hitomi was seated with her other friends._

And that was how Bakugou and Hitomi ended up at one of the smaller slopes.

Bakugou's arms were crossed, his finger tapping his arm impatiently as he waited for Hitomi to put her skis on. "What's taking so long?"

Hitomi smiled sheepishly at him, her cheeks a pretty shade of red. "I don't get how to put these on."

Bakugou huffed, bending down next to her. "Are you serious?" he scoffed. "It's pretty damn simple, you idiot." He leaned in close, adjusting Hitomi's feet so her boots were aligned with the locks of the skis. He didn't notice the way Hitomi's blush deepened.

Bakugou secured the locks, Hitomi's boots now attached to her skis as he got up from the ground. "See? Pretty easy shit."

Hitomi huffed, rolling her eyes at him. "Not everyone is good at everything like you are," she pouted.

"It's not about me being _good_," Bakugou scowled, placing a hand on his hip. "Even a kid would know how to put on some skis, Moon Face."

Hitomi puffed her cheeks out, the sight making Bakugou's stomach do flips. He squashed the feeling down, holding his hand out expectantly.

"Come on. Get off your ass so we can get a move on already."

Hitomi hesitated for a second, her blush deepening (not that Bakugou thought anything of it, it was probably the cold) before she tentatively placed her gloved hand in his, allowing him to pull her up.

She gripped his hand tightly, not letting go even after she was standing. "Um…"

"What are you waiting for?" Bakugou huffed, raising a brow. "Grab your poles and let's go."

Hitomi let go of his hand quickly, grabbing her ski poles and looking away embarrassed. "Uh-! Right, right…"

…

Hitomi wanted to _die._

Bakugou had been teaching her for more than an hour, and Hitomi had probably stumbled into Bakugou's arms more than six times now.

Being pushed up so close against her crush, him having to hold her in his arms, she was so embarrassed it kept happening! But, for some reason, Bakugou never said anything. Hitomi had been waiting for some offhand comment or snide remark, but it never came.

At the very least, though, she was learning. Bakugou had taught her well enough in that last hour that she could now slide down the smaller slopes on her own.

Hitomi felt the wind tousle her hair, laughing lightly to herself as she slid down the hill. As she slowed to a stop, she let out a sigh, readjusting her knit cap.

Bakugou was waiting for her at the bottom, his arms crossed.

"Thanks for teaching me, Bakugou!" Hitomi smiled at him. "I really appreciate it."

Bakugou scoffed, lolling his head to the side in a shrug. "Whatever, Moon Face. You're more bearable to teach than the other idiots."

Hitomi covered her mouth as she giggled, knowing exactly who he was referring to. "You don't need to hide it, Bakugou. Everyone already knows you really care about Kaminari and Mina."

Bakugou glared at her accusingly, a low growl rumbling in his throat. "Fuck off."

Hitomi hummed, turning around to glance at the other slopes. "Can we go to one of the higher slopes, now?" she asked him. "I think I can do it."

Bakugou huffed, his frown deepening. "No, you can't. You still wobble when you come down the easiest one, so there's no way you can handle the next level."

"I won't know if I try!" Hitomi pouted.

"No," Bakugou deadpanned. "If you go, you could fall over and get hurt like an idiot because of your clumsiness! And then you wouldn't be able to ski at _all!_"

Hitomi paused, staring at the ash blonde in surprise. _He's… worried about me getting hurt?_

She shook her head, dismissing the thought.

_It's probably not that,_ she told herself. _He probably just doesn't want to have to deal with carrying me back._

Hitomi sighed, the two of them beginning to make their way back to the top. "Fine," she relented. "You're the teacher, you know best, after all."

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Damn right I do, Moon Face."

"I've actually been meaning to ask," Hitomi started, staring at the snow absentmindedly. "How come you're teaching me in the first place? I thought for sure you'd want to spend the whole day snowboarding, not teaching someone. I could've just asked Todoroki to help me, anyway."

Bakugou kissed his teeth, looking irritated. "Why the hell would you want that half-and-half bastard to teach you?! He'd probably do a half-assed job of it, just like how he threw the match at the sports festival!"

Hitomi sighed as they finally reached the top, exasperated with his pettiness. "Those are two entirely different things, Bakugou… Besides, he did a pretty good job of helping me ice skate…"

Bakugou made a "_keh!"_ noise, clenching his jaw. "What he did was nothing!" he scoffed. "If it had been me, you would've mastered it in a day!"

Hitomi looked unamused, her eyes half-lidded. "Would you have even taught me if I asked?"

"Of course I would have!" Bakugou growled. "Why the fuck wouldn't I-"

Bakugou cut himself off, slapping a hand over his mouth. Hitomi stared at him, her eyes wide in shock. She could practically feel her heart buzzing in her chest, appalled at Bakugou's words.

_What does he mean by 'Of course I would have'...?_

"HITOMI!"

Hitomi's thoughts came to a halt as she saw Mina running towards her, her phone in hand.

"Hitomi!" Mina exclaimed as she approached. "Take our picture, please?"

Hitomi glanced over the pink girl's shoulder, seeing the rest of the Bakusquad (minus Kaminari) standing a distance away, waiting.

"Your picture?" Hitomi repeated.

Mina nodded, before pausing, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Actually, wait, not picture. Take a video! We're trying to recreate that giraffe vine!"

Hitomi grinned, grabbing Mina's phone. "In that case, I got you covered!" She lifted one of her feet to start walking, before she realized her skis were still attached to her boots. "Ah…"

Hitomi turned to Bakugou, pointing down at them shyly. "Bakugou, could you help me take these off? I'm just gonna do this really quick, and then I'll come back, I promise!"

Bakugou scratched the back of his head, his mouth in a scowl. "You _still_ can't do it yourself?"

Hitomi clasped her hands together, pleading. "Pleaaase? It'll only take a second!"

Bakugou growled, before kneeling down by Hitomi's feet to unlock her skis. "Ugh, fine. But when you come back you're doing it yourself!"

Hitomi stepped away from her skis as soon as Bakugou had freed them from her feet, nodding in thanks. "Right, right. Thank you!"

She then broke into a run with Mina towards the others, leaving Bakugou alone to his own thoughts.

He still couldn't believe he'd said that out loud.

…

"You guys say-"

"I'M A GIRAFFE!" Kaminari screamed as he whizzed by, making the group groan.

"Dammit!" Sero grumbled, seeing Kaminari stumble and fall face first into the snow. "Our timing was off again!"

Hitomi lowered the phone, embarrassed. "Sorry… I just can't seem to get it right."

"It's okay, Hitomi!" Kirishima exclaimed, shooting her a thumbs up. "Sixth's times the charm!"

"That really doesn't make me feel better. It's 'third time's the charm', not 'sixth time's'."

The group had tried (and failed) to recreate the "I'm a giraffe!" vine five times now, poor Kaminari starting to get exhausted from repeatedly going back up the slope to ski down it only to crash into snow banks each time.

Hitomi was worried he was hitting his head too much.

"This time!" Mina exclaimed, a determined glint in her eye. "This time, we'll get it for sure!"

Hitomi sighed, adjusting the collar of her jacket. "I sure hope so…" She turned to Kaminari, who was trudging up the hill behind her. "Sorry I keep messing up, Kaminari. I'll really try to get it right this time, I swear!"

Kaminari waved her off, tapping his forehead and shooting her a wink. "No worries! This brain's been through worse, after all!"

The group laughed lightly at his remark, Kaminari continuing towards the top of the hill.

Hitomi clutched Mina's phone, reinvigorated with determination.

_I'll get it this time!_

_After all, I don't want to keep Bakugou waiting much longer…!_

_...That is, _if _he's even still waiting for me…_

Hitomi saw Mina wave, the pink girl cupping her hands around her mouth. "Kaminari, you ready?!"

Kaminari waved from the top of the hill, signaling a thumbs up. Hitomi took a deep breath, holding the phone up and aiming the camera at the Bakusquad as they all struck their poses. Kaminari pushed himself off the edge, beginning to slide down the snow and quickly gaining speed.

_And… now!_

Hitomi hit the record button, yelling, "You guys say 'Colorado'!"

"I'M A GIRAFFE!"

Hitomi stopped the recording once Kaminari passed by, jumping up and down as she cheered. "I got it!"

The group all crowded around her, peering over her petite shoulders as they reviewed the video.

"It's perfect!" Mina cheered, bouncing in her shoes as she took her phone back. Hitomi and Kaminari high-fived each other, proud of their work.

"We did it, Kaminari!"

"It's my best masterpiece yet!"

The group erupted into giggles as they watched the short video again, before Hitomi stepped back, pointing to the slope she had been on with Bakugou earlier. "I better get going," she said with a small laugh. "I'm not done learning how to ski."

The group gave her waves and "see you later's" as she sprinted towards the hill, Hitomi hopeful she hadn't made Bakugou wait too long.

…

Bakugou was tapping his foot impatiently, a scowl on his face as Hitomi finally approached.

"Sorry!" Hitomi breathed out, panting slightly from her climb up the hill. "It took us a few tries before we finally got it right…"

Bakugou felt his scowl deepen, turning his head away as he huffed. "I've been waiting out here for _20 fucking minutes_."

Hitomi's eyes widened, the girl stepping forward slightly. "I'm so sorry…!" she exclaimed, looking worried. "I had no idea it took that long… I didn't mean to make you wait out in the cold."

Bakugou clicked his tongue. "Whatever. Let's just hurry it up so I can get some feeling back in my hands."

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed, guilty she'd made him wait so long. She knew Bakugou wasn't as fit for the cold as she was, so making him wait, just standing around doing nothing with no physical activity to keep him warm made her feel bad.

"I'll make it up to you!" Hitomi exclaimed, making Bakugou's head snap back towards her.

"Huh?"

Hitomi grabbed his hand, holding it up between them and trying to warm it with the side effect of her quirk.

"I know you don't like the cold and I didn't mean to make you wait for me," Hitomi explained, feeling her cheeks warm. "So… I can buy you something later to warm you up! Whatever you want, it'll be my treat…!"

"...Anything?" Bakugou finally mumbled after a few seconds of silence.

Hitomi nodded, a determined look in her eye. "Anything! Within reasonable price, of course."

_A kiss, then,_ was Bakugou's first thought.

He almost punched himself, abruptly pulling his hand out of Hitomi's and turning away so she couldn't see his face.

"Better not be a cheapskate, then, Moon Face." he grumbled, feeling his heart beating fast.

_WHAT THE _**FUCK?!** _WHY IS A _KISS _THE FIRST THING I THINK OF?_

Hitomi giggled, her soft voice practically burning itself into Bakugou's mind. "I can't promise you, Bakugou. I'll do my best, though. Anyways..."

Bakugou finally glanced at her to see she was eyeing her skis, looking like she was deep in thought.

"I guess I should put these back on, then," Hitomi hummed.

She plopped onto the ground by her skis, putting her feet in place. "Uh…" She grabbed the locks, unsure of how to secure them. "Do I do this…? Wait, no, that's not right…"

Bakugou rolled his eyes, crouching down next to her. "You're pushing it the wrong way." He grabbed her hand, guiding her so she locked it correctly. "There. I told you it was easy."

He looked up, only to see Hitomi's face just a few centimeters away. Neither of them moved, Bakugou feeling Hitomi's breath fanning his face.

He suddenly slapped his hand over his mouth, jumping back. "You need to eat a fucking breath mint or something," he mumbled underneath his hand. "I can smell that you ate sweet shit again."

Hitomi turned her gaze back to her skis, her face flushed. "Yeah… I ate a cookie a while ago, but I thought the scent would've gone away by now…" She abruptly stood up, grabbing her ski poles. "A-Anyways! We should hurry up if I wanna move on to the higher slopes, so…"

She pointed towards the top, beginning to make her way there.

"Uh, yeah," Bakugou huffed. "Better get a move on, Moon Face."

…

Hitomi rolled to a stop in front of Bakugou, adjusting her hat as she grinned. "How was that?"

Bakugou scratched his cheek, looking away. "Better, I guess. You didn't fall on your ass every 3 seconds."

Hitomi puffed her cheeks out at him, lightly batting his arm. "That was only the first few times, you jerk!"

Bakugou rolled his eyes, pulling his arm away. "Yeah, and it was a fucking riot to watch."

He shot her a smirk, which made Hitomi splutter in embarrassment. "H-Hey…!"

Her cheeks were bright red, Hitomi turning away as she made a "hmph!" sound.

"_Excuse_ me for still being a beginner," she huffed. "You can't expect me to become an expert in a day!"

"Yeah, especially because it takes extra long for you since you're such a klutz," Bakugou added.

Hitomi whined, shooting him a glare. "Whatever."

Bakugou stared at her for a few moments, before his gaze turned to one of the higher slopes.

"Let's go."

"Huh?"

Bakugou brushed past her, picking up his snowboard from the ground. "You're competent enough to do the bunny slope," he said, "so if you really want to get to the next level we should hurry before it gets dark."

Hitomi stared at him in shock. "Wait, really? You think I can do it?"

Bakugou didn't say anything, just turned around to face her and gestured his head towards the ski tram.

"We need to take the ski lift since it's higher up and wouldn't be easy to walk. Come on."

Hitomi watched as he began to make his way to the ski lift, before hastily detaching her skis from her boots and running after him.

"Wait up!"

…

Hitomi was seated a foot or so away from Bakugou in the ski lift, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

Sometimes she didn't understand how crushing on someone could change how you acted with them so drastically.

She was fine earlier when he was teaching her to ski, only getting flustered when she would accidentally fall on top of him or whatever. She was alone with him then, she was alone with him right now, why was _this_ any different?!

_Ah… but I suppose, back there, we weren't exactly… 'alone'. There were other people on the bunny slope._

Here _though…_

Hitomi side-eyed Bakugou, seeing he was leaning against the backrest, his arms crossed and looking deep in thought.

_Here… we're completely alone. It's just the two of us._

Hitomi flinched as she felt the chairlift jostle slightly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Uh… so…" Hitomi began, wanting to keep her mind from drifting into embarrassing territory. "Where'd you learn to snowboard, Bakugou…?"

Bakugou tapped his arm in thought, staring at the trees blankly. "My parents took us on snow trips a few times when I was younger."

Hitomi hummed in response, fiddling with her zipper. "Your parents, huh…? Don't they work in the fashion industry?"

Bakugou huffed out a "yes", his voice gruff.

"Ah, so _that's_ why you have such high standards when it comes to clothing. You'd think you wouldn't, since you're such a delinquent, but you'd be wrong."

Bakugou growled, shooting her a glare. "At least my clothes are better than the cheap shit you wear!"

Hitomi stuck her tongue out at him, which made his glare harden. "My clothes aren't that bad. And they save me more money too."

"They're still shitty."

"That's what _you_ think. And that's only because you grew up with fancy designer clothing."

Bakugou scowled, leaning forward in his seat. "So? What about _you_, huh?! I got you that damn gift card for your birthday so you could get yourself some nice clothes for a change, and I know you haven't used it yet! You're letting my money go to waste!"

Hitomi spluttered, her face flushing. "I-I used it…!"

"Yeah, right," Bakugou scoffed. "I still see you always wearing your cheap-ass American shit."

"Just because it's American doesn't mean it's cheap!"

"You just said it yourself it saves you money!"

"That's-!"

Hitomi was cut off as their ski lift came to an abrupt stop, their chair jostling.

"Eh?"

"Fuck," Bakugou mumbled. "Don't tell me…"

He trailed off as a loud chime was heard over the loudspeakers, an automated voice sounding.

"_Please excuse the interruption. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the ski lift has broken down and must come to a stop. No one may board the ski lift at this time. All passengers, please stay seated. We are currently evaluating the situation._

_We apologize for the inconvenience."_

"GODDAMMIT!" Bakugou screamed, slamming his fist against the railing and making their chair swing slightly. "Of course this fucking happens!"

"Just our luck, huh…" Hitomi sighed. She craned her neck to look behind her, seeing people exiting the terminal down at the bottom of the hill. "I hope we aren't stuck here for too long…"

_If we are, I don't know what I'll do..._

…

It had been 20 minutes now.

The two of them had sat in silence, Bakugou grumbling to himself and tapping his arm impatiently while Hitomi was on her phone, checking for any updates.

"It says there was some malfunction at the top," Hitomi said, scrolling down the page, "and they're working on it right now. "If it's not fixed within an hour, they're gonna have to evacuate us."

Bakugou scowled, rubbing his arms. "Fucking hell. They better not let us freeze to death."

His voice quivered at the tail-end of his sentence, making Hitomi glance at him in concern.

He was gripping his arms, rubbing them in an attempt to generate heat. His shoulders were shaking slightly, Bakugou burrowing his face into his orange wool scarf.

"Bakugou, are you cold…?"

"The fuck do you think?!" he snapped. "We're stuck up here and it's freezing, of course I'm fucking cold!"

Hitomi fell silent, hesitating.

_Maybe I can… Oh, but his pride may not let me…_

_But he's cold. I need to extend the offer, at least._

Hitomi scooted closer to him, feeling her cheeks growing warm. "Bakugou."

"What?"

She scooted closer again, feeling Bakugou tense as her leg touched his. Hitomi held a hand out to him, noting how his ears were red from the biting temperature. "C'mere."

"The _fuck_?!" Bakugou growled. "_Why?!"_

Hitomi blushed, looking away. "If you're cold… my quirk can warm you up."

"_Huh?_" Bakugou leaned away, shooting Hitomi an accusatory glare. "I-I don't need your help!"

Hitomi felt her eyebrows furrow, exasperated. "Bakugou, look at you. You're shivering like a cat stuck in the rain."

"So?! I don't-" Bakugou was cut off as he suddenly sneezed, the action sending chills down his spine. Bakugou shuddered, feeling his nose run. "Shit!"

"See?" Hitomi cried out. "You're already sneezing. Please, my quirk can help!"

Bakugou sniffled, wiping his nose. "_Fine,_" he grumbled. "I-I'm only letting you so I don't get sick…!"

"That's all that matters to me."

"Whatever."

They both fell silent, Bakugou finally relaxing. He turned to face her, staring at her expectantly. "Well…?"

Hitomi flinched, her face flushing as the realization of _what_ she'd actually be doing sank in. "Um! H-Hold on…"

She scooted closer so they were pressed up against each other this time, Hitomi's face bright red. Bakugou watched as she tried placing her arm behind him on the backrest, the bluenette stuttering to herself.

"Here… Ah, wait- no…" She pulled her arm away, trying to adjust the way she was sitting. She was facing him fully, one of her legs resting on the seat. "Agh, I can't…"

Bakugou raised a brow, scrutinizing her. "Why the hell'd you offer if you don't even know what you're doing?!"

"I-I do know!" Hitomi spluttered. "It's just…" She started twiddling her fingers, looking embarrassed. "My arms… are too short to wrap around you…"

"W-Wrap around me?!" Bakugou yelped. "The fuck are you trying to do?!"

Hitomi gulped, clasping her hands together against her chest. "My body is a heat source… because of my quirk. If you want me to warm you up…" Hitomi looked up at him shyly, her cheeks red. "I need to be closer to you."

Bakugou's brain fried right then and there.

"S-Sorry!" Hitomi stuttered, waving her hands around. "I shouldn't have suggested something so stupid…! I'll just buy you something extra warm later…! For now we'll just have to- um- agh-"

She was cut off by another sneeze from Bakugou, the action making their chair swing slightly again.

"_GODDAMMIT!"_

Hitomi was about to ask what was wrong before Bakugou suddenly grabbed her shoulder, pressing her up against his chest.

Hitomi felt like her heart had stopped. "W-WHA- WHAT ARE YOU-"

"Not a word," Bakugou growled, his grip tightening on her shoulder. "I refuse to get sick on this trip."

Hitomi felt blood rush from her neck all the way to her ears, her mouth clamping shut. She glanced down at her lap, clasping her hands together there. "Uh… right."

…

The two of them had sat there in silence for a while, both too flustered to say anything.

Bakugou's arm was still around Hitomi's shoulders, but his grip was more relaxed, and Hitomi hoped she had warmed him up like she said she could.

The sky was already a light lavender, meaning it was late afternoon, almost evening.

Hitomi gulped, finally gathering the courage to speak. "Do you think we'll have to evacuate…?"

Bakugou clenched his jaw, looking stiff. "I don't know, you tell me. You were the one checking for updates earlier."

"Ah… You're right, I should probably do that…" Hitomi reached into her jacket, grabbing her phone from the inside pocket. She turned it on, going to the ski resort's homepage she was looking at prior. "Oh… It says they're repairing it right now."

Unconsciously, Bakugou leaned in to get a better look at Hitomi's phone, his cheek brushing against her blue hair. "The hell?" he scoffed. "It's gonna take more than half an hour?!"

"And it's already almost 5…" Hitomi sighed, too distracted to realize Bakugou was no longer gripping her shoulder, but had his arm wrapped around it instead. "I don't suppose you'd be able to finish teaching me now, huh…? Especially after we've been stuck out here for a while."

Bakugou growled, burrowing his face into his scarf. "Hell no."

Hitomi felt her shoulders droop, disappointed. "Yeah… makes sense, I guess. It was nice of you to teach me though, even if it was only for one day."

"Who said I was done?!"

"Huh?"

Bakugou rolled his eyes, glancing at the tips of the trees they were near. "There's always tomorrow or the day after," he grumbled. "And you don't seriously think I'm gonna let that half-and-half bastard do a shit job of teaching you, do you?"

Hitomi blushed, staring at her hands in her lap. "Oh, right…"

They drifted into silence, Hitomi feeling flustered once again.

_Crap. Say something, anything!_

"So…" she started, "are you… feeling warm? Not cold anymore?"

_DON'T BRING ATTENTION TO HOW YOU'RE _**CUDDLING**_, YOU IDIOT!_

Hitomi felt Bakugou tense, finally realizing his arm was around her shoulders as he scratched his cheek.

"I suppose. I'm not shivering anymore."

"Great, great… That's good..." Hitomi began fiddling with her hands in her lap, recalling their conversation from earlier. "By the way…"

Bakugou glanced at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Um, about… what we were talking about a while ago…" Hitomi wrung her hands, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "That gift card you got me for my birthday. If you were really worried about me wasting your money, I _have_ used it before…"

Bakugou huffed, turning back to the snow-tipped trees. "When?"

"Do you remember when we were hanging out at I-Island? W-When it was just the two of us, I mean."

Bakugou paused, recalling when he and Hitomi had essentially gotten ditched by the rest of the Bakusquad the first day they'd checked out the Expo. The two of them had been left on their own, and had spent their two hours waiting for the others together, hanging out and seeing what the convention had to offer. Y'know, fun stuff.

Bakugou remembered really enjoying it, at least. He'd thought Hitomi looked really _lovely_, that day-

_QUIT DAYDREAMING…! _he practically screamed internally at himself. _SHE'S WAITING FOR AN ANSWER, IDIOT!_

"Yeah, sure," he coughed out. "What about it?"

"I… um, that long vest I was wearing…? I bought it using your gift card…"

"Hah?" Bakugou huffed. "Just that? Nothing else?"

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed. "It was on sale…"

Bakugou groaned in response. "You're fucking kidding me. I got you a gift card with 16,000 yen (~$150) in it and you were looking at the _sale_ section?!"

"H-Hey!" Hitomi stuttered. "You didn't _have_ to put in so much money…!"

"Well, it's too late for that," Bakugou deadpanned. "So just spend it already."

Hitomi spluttered, turning back to her hands in her lap. "I want to save it for something… _special_, I guess. That store has really great clothing, after all, and I'm waiting until I can find something really nice."

"Hm."

* * *

The ski lift had finally gotten back in working order, and now Hitomi and Bakugou were standing at the very top of the next slope.

Hitomi scooted to the edge, the long distance seeming daunting.

"So we just go down this…" she started, "and we're done for the day?"

Bakugou nodded, locking his boots to his snowboard. "Yeah. I'm done staying out here."

Hitomi gulped, gripping her ski poles. "Right…"

She had been so excited to do the next level earlier, but after being stuck on the ski lift for so long, and seeing how high it actually was now, her confidence had dwindled.

Bakugou pulled on his goggles, standing over the edge. "Come on. Let's go so you can buy me my food already."

Before Hitomi could protest, he pushed himself off the edge, making his way down the hill.

Hitomi was frozen in place, watching as he gained speed and got closer and closer to the bottom. She shook her head, clenching her fists.

_It'll be fine! You did great on the bunny slope! This is just… a little bit higher…_

Hitomi took a deep breath, before pushing herself off the edge and sliding down the slope. The wind blew through her hair, Hitomi clenching her ski poles as she got faster and faster. She could see Bakugou was now waiting for her at the bottom, his hands on his hips. Hitomi's eyes narrowed, determined to maintain her balance as she got closer to the bottom.

Right when she was almost there, Hitomi tried giving Bakugou a smile, before her foot caught the edge of a snowbank. Hitomi yelped, feeling a shooting pain in her ankle as she flew over it and crashed face first into the snow at the bottom of the slope.

Hitomi groaned, hearing Bakugou yell "Shit!"

She pulled her face up from the ground, wincing as she saw Bakugou had detached his feet from his snowboard and was running over to her. She rolled over so she was sitting on the ground, feeling an aching pain in her right ankle. "Ow…"

Bakugou stopped in front of her, crouching down beside her. "What the hell?" he panted. "Why weren't you paying attention?!"

Hitomi grimaced, holding her ankle. "I was so close to the bottom… I didn't think I'd trip on anything…"

"Idiot!" Bakugou growled. "You _always_ need to pay attention, you damn klutz!"

Hitomi smiled sheepishly at him. "I'm fine. No need to scold me…"

She began to get up from the ground, before the pain in her ankle worsened and she crashed back onto the snow.

"Ow…!"

Bakugou scowled, grabbing her leg. Hitomi squeaked as he detached her foot from her skis, before yanking her boot off. He observed her foot for a few seconds, before squeezing her ankle and making Hitomi yelp.

"H-Hey!" Hitomi spluttered, pulling her leg away. "Don't do that, that hurts!"

Bakugou shot her a glare. "Idiot! You got yourself hurt!"

"So?!" Hitomi retorted, shoving her boot back on and wincing slightly as she did so. "I've suffered way worse from hero training!"

Bakugou kissed his teeth. "Well this _isn't_ hero training! And we don't have Recovery Girl to heal you!"

Hitomi looked away, detaching her other ski. "I don't get why you care so much anyway. Not too long ago you were just laughing about how clumsy I am! Why would it matter to you if I hurt myself if you were laughing at me anyway?!"

"That's because-!" Bakugou cut himself off, clamping his mouth shut. Instead he clicked his tongue, his glare hardening. "It doesn't matter why."

Hitomi's eyes narrowed, the girl getting up from the ground, this time placing all her weight on her unharmed foot. "Whatever. Let's just go back inside already, it's already getting late."

Hitomi picked up her skis, trying to limp her way back to the lodge and hissing in pain with each step.

Bakugou scowled, walking towards her and grabbing her shoulder. "Stop."

Hitomi looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes half-lidded in annoyance. "What now?"

He shoved his snowboard into Hitomi's arms, the bluenette crying out in surprise before Bakugou swung one of his arms under her legs, picking her up from the ground bridal style.

Hitomi yelped, gripping her skis, ski poles, and Bakugou's snowboard so they wouldn't fall as her face flushed bright red. "What are you-?!"

"Zip it," Bakugou grumbled, making his way back to the lodge. "If I leave you out here to make it back on your own, you wouldn't get back until after the sun went down and I wouldn't hear the end of it from Pudding Head. She's already gonna kill me once she finds out you hurt your ankle because of your clumsy ass."

Hitomi went silent, her arms tightening around their snow gear as they neared the wooden building.

Her heart was beating fast, and feeling as if it was stuck in her throat.

It was somewhat nostalgic.

"Sorry for making you go through so much trouble," she mumbled into her jacket.

Bakugou huffed, walking up the patio steps. "Just watch where you're going next time, damn klutz."

He kicked the door open harshly, turning any leftover patrons' attention to the two of them. Hitomi blushed, embarrassed at all the unneeded attention as Bakugou carried her silently to the lounge area.

Nari came running over, Yoshiho not far behind.

"What happened?!"

Bakugou adjusted Hitomi in his arms, brushing past her to head to the couches by the fireplace. "Moon Face is a fucking dumbass who tripped at the bottom of the hill."

"How bad is it?!"

Hitomi smiled sheepishly at her best friend. "I'm sure it's nothing serious. It's just a sprained ankle, I think."

"I'll go find medical help," Yoshiho told them once she approached, before running off.

The three of them watched as she left, before Nari finally turned to Bakugou, a glare on her face. "I thought I told you to take care of her!"

Bakugou glared back, his mouth in a deep frown. "That's what I was trying to do! But it's not like I could help her when I was at the bottom while she was still sliding down the hill!"

"Even so!" Nari yelled back. "You could've done something to prevent it from happening in the first place!"

"I-!"

"_Guys,"_ Hitomi cut in, interrupting the argument that was about to ensue. "Please, it's okay. I'll be fine."

"But he-!" Nari tried to protest, but Hitomi shushed her, smiling at her childhood friend.

"Nari, please. I've dealt with way worse at school."

Nari's eyebrows furrowed, the girl running a hand through her hair. "...Sorry. I just can't help but worry."

"Well, you _shouldn't_," Bakugou growled out. "Kanetsukabe can handle herself, there's no need to baby her."

Nari sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "I guess you're right," she mumbled, seeing Yoshiho was approaching with a medic trailing behind her.

"Alright, who's injured?"

Bakugou stepped forward, gesturing to Hitomi in his arms.

The woman placed a hand on Hitomi's shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. "Can you stand, sweetheart?"

Hitomi nodded her head slowly. "I can stand, but I can't walk…"

The nurse stepped back, gesturing for Bakugou to follow her. "Alright then, young man, come with me. We're taking her to the infirmary."

…

"Have you eaten dinner yet, sweetheart?" the nurse asked, rummaging through some cabinets.

Hitomi shook her head, readjusting the ice she was pressing against her ankle. "No, not yet…"

"Gotcha. Ah, found 'em!"

The older woman made her way over, kneeling by Hitomi's foot. She held up an ankle brace, nudging for Hitomi to remove the ice.

"I'll need you to wear this for the night," she said, securing it around Hitomi's foot. "You'll need to eat dinner first," the woman held up a ziplock bag, two pills of medicine inside, "and once you've got food in your stomach, you can take these. They'll heal you overnight thanks to my quirk, so you'll be all set for Christmas tomorrow!"

"Ah, thank you…" Hitomi took the medicine, stashing it in her pocket as the nurse got up from the floor.

"Can you walk?" the nurse asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Or do you need your boyfriend to carry you back for you again?"

Hitomi almost fell off the bench, waving her hands around frantically in surprise. "B-Boyfriend?!" she spluttered, her face pink.

The nurse tilted her head to the side, an innocent smile on her face. "Yeah, the boy with porcupine hair, no? He was carrying you like his bride, and so tenderly too!" The woman giggled, covering her mouth. "Young love is so sweet!"

"You're mistaken!" Hitomi stammered. "He's not my boyfriend…!"

"Oh, he's not?" the nurse asked. "Ah, my bad then. Still, do you need to be carried back?"

Hitomi tried willing her blush to fade, getting up from the bench slowly and making sure to keep as little weight as possible on her sprained ankle. "No… I'll be fine. I'll just make sure to be careful with it."

"Take care then!" the nurse called after her as Hitomi left, the bluenette shutting the door softly behind her. She leaned back against it, breathing a deep sigh.

Two people had been mistaken for her boyfriend now today. The difference was that with Midoriya, she'd laughed at the awkward idea, while with Bakugou, she wished oh so much that was the case.

Hitomi pushed herself slowly off the door, staggering back to the main lobby area.

_But you can keep dreaming,_ she thought tiredly, _and just enjoy the moments you can have with him now._

* * *

Bakugou had been sitting in front of the fireplace for an hour now, changed out of his snow gear and wholly pissed off. He was thankful the fireplace was in a secluded area of the lounge, allowing him to brood in peace as he tried warming himself up.

He listened to the crackle of the fire, the orange light dancing across his face as he finally tched.

He was angry. Angry at himself.

He'd said he'd take care of Hitomi. What an idiot he was. He said he'd take care of her, and now she'd gotten herself hurt because he was too hasty.

What an idiot he was.

"I've been looking all over for you."

Bakugou turned away from the fireplace to see Hitomi standing by the edge of the couch, changed out of her snow gear as well and holding some food and drinks in her hands.

Bakugou turned his attention back to the fireplace, trying to sink himself further into his seat to keep himself from staring at Hitomi's _goddamn fucking adorable _outfit. She was wearing an oversized mulberry sweater that completely encased her figure, paired with warm winter printed leggings.

"Whaddya want?" he growled, his arms crossed stubbornly.

Hitomi made her way over slowly, Bakugou noticing the brace on her ankle as she sat down next to him. The cushions bounced slightly as Hitomi leaned back against the pillows, pulling one of the two drinks out of the cup holder she was carrying. She held it out to him, Bakugou staring at it curiously.

"Here."

Bakugou squinted at it. "Huh…?"

He missed the way Hitomi's cheeks flushed slightly, the bluenette pushing the drink into his chest. "I said I'd get you a treat, didn't I?" she mumbled. "So, here it is."

Bakugou held the drink in his hands, feeling the heat through the cup.

Hitomi dropped a paper bag into his lap, the bag making a dull crinkling sound. "This too. I would've had you come with me so you could pick for yourself, but I couldn't find you anywhere nearby and wanted to hurry before you went to bed."

Bakugou stared at what Hitomi had bought him, before scoffing, hoping Hitomi couldn't hear his heart beating against his chest. "I'm not eating sweet shit."

Hitomi rolled her eyes, pulling her peppermint hot chocolate out of the cup holder and taking a sip. "It's not sweet," she mumbled into her cup. "The drink is warm mulled cider, which has mulling spices and ginger, while the food is gingerbread. They're spicy, just how you like it. Well, at least, as spicy as I could find…"

Bakugou's eyes narrowed, trying to keep the blood he could feel rushing through his neck from reaching his cheeks. His face could have been read as a hateful glare, which Hitomi saw it as and filled her with worry and concern.

"Ah… do you not like it…? Crap, I knew I should have-"

"It's fine."

"But…"

Bakugou scowled, drinking some of the cider to prove his point. He wiped his mouth, staring at the armrest of the couch. "It's fine," he repeated, mumbling into his hand. "It's sweet, but it's still got a kick to it… Which is fine, I suppose."

Hitomi stared at him for a few seconds, before smiling softly, satisfied as she leaned back in her seat. "I see. That's great, then."

She hummed quietly, Bakugou side eyeing her as the fire illuminated her face.

"Oh, I almost forgot…!"

Bakugou watched as Hitomi reached into her pocket, pulling out a ziplock that looked to be holding pills inside.

"Drugs?" was his immediate response.

_KATSUKI. WHAT THE __**FUCK.**_

Sometimes his brain didn't work right around her.

Hitomi spluttered, her face flushing as she punched his arm. _Hard._

"Bakugou!" she shrieked. "What the _hell?!_"

Bakugou scowled, rubbing his arm. "Lay off, Moon Face. It's obvious I'm not serious…!"

_Yeah, you weren't serious. Just _stupid.

God, he felt like he'd been turned into Kaminari when the dunce face overused his quirk.

Hitomi grumbled, turning back to the ziplock and opening it. "It's medicine. For my ankle, dummy. Apparently it'll heal me overnight."

Bakugou stared at the fireplace, giving a dull "Huh," in response.

Hitomi huffed, putting the pills in her mouth and downing them with her hot chocolate.

She sighed in satisfaction, holding her cup in her lap.

…

Bakugou and Hitomi had been sitting in silence for only 15 minutes before Bakugou felt a weight on his shoulder.

He paused, glancing slowly at his side to see Hitomi leaning against his shoulder, breathing softly as she slept.

_It must be from the medicine._

Bakugou felt his breath catch, unable to keep himself from staring at her pretty face.

Her lips were turned up in a delicate smile, her cheeks squished up against his shoulder and rosy from how her hot chocolate had warmed her face.

_...Shit._

Bakugou snapped his head to the ceiling, squeezing his eyes shut.

_Don't stare,_ he berated himself.

Bakugou gulped, his grip tightening on his cup of cider. He could feel himself blushing, hating how flustered something as simple as Hitomi's _face_ made him feel. He finally opened his eyes, only for them to widen as he realized what was hanging from the ceiling.

_What the _**fuck.**

Bakugou felt like he couldn't breathe, frozen as he stared at the mistletoe hanging above their heads.

Thank _god_ neither of them had noticed it while Hitomi was still awake.

And thank _god_ this was a secluded area of the lodge, so no one could point it out to them and peer pressure them into… _into…_

Bakugou could hear his heart beating in his ears, covering his mouth.

The action caused Hitomi to stir slightly, the girl nuzzling herself closer against his shoulder. Bakugou went rigid, clenching his jaw as his eyes bored into her sleeping figure.

_Just one wouldn't hurt, right…?_

Bakugou gulped, removing his hand from his face.

_Just… a peck._

He shifted slightly, adjusting his sitting position so he was facing Hitomi a bit better. Hitomi didn't move, still sound asleep. Bakugou brushed some of her bangs back tenderly, leaning forward slowly.

Bakugou's eyes closed as he kissed her forehead softly, lingering there for a few seconds before he pulled away. Bakugou leaned back in his seat, his heart feeling like it was buzzing in his chest. Bakugou tried to ignore the feeling as he reached into the paper bag to finally eat the gingerbread Hitomi had bought him.

He took a big bite out of it, trying to ignore the fact he'd just _kissed Hitomi's forehead_ like she was his fucking wife or some shit.

Bakugou continued to eat his snack, his heartbeat finally starting to settle after a few minutes had passed. He was almost done with the gingerbread until-

"You two sure are comfortable."

Bakugou practically felt his heart leap into his throat, choking on his food as he looked over his shoulder behind him.

"WHAT THE-" Bakugou covered his mouth, so as not to wake Hitomi and coughed into his hand. He hacked out the gingerbread crumbs lodged in his throat, shooting Nari a menacing glare. "God _damn it_, Pudding Head, don't just creep up on people like that!" he snarled.

_Oh, fuck. She better not have seen what I-_

Nari shrugged her shoulders, a sly smirk on her face. "Not my fault you didn't notice my footsteps. Thought the high and mighty Bakugou-san would've at least heard _that._"

Bakugou scowled, turning back around to face the fireplace. "Piss off, you-" He was cut off as Hitomi slid off his shoulder, her body falling over so that her head rested in his lap instead. Bakugou would've gasped, but no sound came out, the ash blonde only staring at Hitomi's sleeping figure in shock.

_What the __**fuck.**_

Nari leaned over the backrest of the couch, giving Bakugou a grin. "Quite comfy, I see."

"Wha-! I'm not-!" Bakugou finally growled, crossing his arms and turning away so Nari couldn't see his face. He was trying his damndest to ignore the weight in his lap. "I'm not comfy, you pudding bitch! Stupid Moon Face is the one who's getting _way too cozy_!"

Nari tilted her head to the side, squinting cheekily at Bakugou. "Then why don't you leave? It's already 8:30, and Mimi's told me before you like to sleep early like an old man."

Bakugou opened his mouth to speak, before Hitomi stirred slightly, rolling over in his lap so she was facing towards him instead. He flinched, his ears turning red.

"Heeeeh?" Nari hummed by his ear. "I see~!"

Bakugou spluttered, shoving her face away. "Fuck off, you scrawny dipshit! I'm only still here because the fire is warm! Moon Face is the one who just decided to _sleep_ here like a dumbass!"

Nari grinned. "Are you _sure_ it's not because you don't wanna wake Hitomi up? You sure it's not because you don't wanna leave her yet?"

"If I _left_ her…" Bakugou growled, "some sleazy scumbag could do something to her because she decided to sleep out in public like an idiot!"

Nari's eyebrows raised into her hair. "You're…"

She fell silent, which made Bakugou shoot her another menacing glare. "I'm _what?_"

Nari waved him off. "I guess even you would be worried about others. It's not surprising, I suppose, especially since it's _Hitomi_ you're concerned about."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing!"

Bakugou scrutinized her, Nari's knowing stare unnerving him.

"There you are."

Nari and Bakugou looked to see Yoshiho was making her way over, her hands stashed in her pockets. "I've looked everywhere on this floor, so this is the last place to check. Have you found..." She trailed off as she finally approached, taking in the sight of Hitomi sleeping on Bakugou's lap.

"Oh. There she is."

Nari grinned, stepping back from the couch. "Bakugou-san's gonna watch her for now, so he'll take her up later!"

"Oi!" Bakugou snapped. "Who the fuck said I was-"

"Our room is 505. Just take her up whenever you're done down here."

Yoshiho stared down at Bakugou, her usual stoic expression on her face. "We're relying on you to watch over her."

Bakugou huffed, rolling his eyes. "Keh! I'm not incompetent, you fucking paste face!"

"But she hurt her ankle when she was with you on the ski slopes."

Bakugou's face turned red. Whether it was from anger or from embarrassment, Nari and Yoshiho didn't know.

"Fuck off!" he griped. "I know that, you emo bitch!"

Yoshiho rubbed the back of her neck, sighing. "I know. I know you didn't mean to let that happen to her either, so I trust you." She gave him a small smile, the sight disillusioning Bakugou since he'd never seen such a thing on her face before. "I know you'll take good care of her."

Bakugou turned back to the fireplace. "Hmph."

"We should get going," Nari giggled. She gave Bakugou a small wave, turning to Yoshiho. "About time we get ready for bed."

Yoshiho nodded, her smile dropping as she started to leave.

Bakugou felt Nari's presence lingering behind him, tilting his head back. "So are you gonna get a move on or what?"

Nari stared down at him, a smirk on her face. She held a hand up to her mouth, her voice barely above a whisper. "You know, the next time you and Hitomi are under mistletoe…

Make sure she's actually awake, so you can kiss her for real, 'kay?"

Bakugou balked, unable to form words as Nari skipped away, hugging Yoshiho's arm as they made their way to the elevators. After a full minute, he could finally process Nari's words, his entire face flushing as he slammed the armrest with his fist.

"_...FUCKING PUDDING HEAD!"_

* * *

"_MERRY CHRISTMAS!"_

The class exploded into cheer as party poppers erupted and sent streamers and confetti into the air, Hitomi clapping her hands and laughing lightly. Nari whooped, throwing her arms up into the air while Yoshiho was silent, her arms crossed like always with her usual deadpan expression on her face.

The class was in the penthouse's large common area, the tables covered completely with plates of food.

Hitomi remembered Uraraka had fainted at how fancy the whole place was, and had nearly wanted to faint herself. Of course Yaoyorozu hadn't spared a single expense, getting the class the most luxurious space in the entire resort to reside in.

Hitomi sat back in her seat, recalling her, Nari, and Yoshiho's shared room. It was _huge_, with a queen-sized bed for each of them, a large Victorian bathroom, a walk-in closet, and there was even a gigantic flat screen TV mounted to the wall above their fireplace. It was reasonable to assume all the rooms in the penthouse were just like theirs.

Hitomi remembered waking up that morning in their room, dressed in her pajamas with her ankle fully healed, confused on how she'd gotten there. According to both Nari and Yoshiho, Bakugou had carried her up to their room at around 9:30 the night before, grumbling about how heavy she was and how "something could've happened to her" if he hadn't watched over her back at the ski lounge.

It made Hitomi's heart race at the thought that Bakugou cared so much.

She shook her head, trying to keep herself from daydreaming and bringing her attention back to the party taking place.

It was Christmas day, around late noon, as everyone was all tuckered out from their snow day the day before and couldn't celebrate until they'd gotten their proper rest.

Sato had displayed his culinary skills once again, cooking the class's entire feast. Yoshiho had decided to help out too, surprising the class as she presented them with various dishes.

"Woah!" Kirishima exclaimed, shoveling more of Yoshiho's steak into his mouth. "This is amazing! Koatsu-san, where'd you learn to cook like this?!"

Yoshiho stared down at the redhead, watching as he, Kaminari, and Sero all snarfed down her cooking.

"I live alone, so I had to learn. It's unhealthy to live only on instant foods."

Hitomi watched as an airy smile appeared on Kaminari's face, the blonde swallowing his food. "Delicious! I'd say it rivals even Bakugou's cooking!"

"_Huh?!_" Bakugou growled. He grabbed a fork, stabbing it into a piece of Kaminari's steak and eating it.

Hitomi watched as he chewed, the furrow in his eyebrows relaxing slightly.

"...Hm. It's not complete shit."

Yoshiho's eyebrows raised into her hair. "You think so?"

Bakugou gave her a curt nod, Hitomi smiling at the sight. She was afraid, especially in Yoshiho's case, that Yoshiho and Nari wouldn't mix well with her classmates, and would feel left out. Thankfully, it seemed as if they were fitting right in, the class welcoming them with open arms. Nari was even playing Just Dance on Hitomi's Switch with Mina right now.

Speaking of which…

"Wow, Nari!" Mina exclaimed, wiping the sweat off her brow. "You're really good at dancing!"

Nari grinned, tapping the floor with her toes to adjust her house slippers. "Thanks! I really want to become an idol, so I've been practicing for a long time."

"An idol?!" Jirou exclaimed. "Don't you need to become a trainee?"

Nari nodded, gesturing to her legs. "That's right. I'm hoping to get scouted soon, maybe this school year or next. Hopefully my quirk will raise my chances!"

Midoriya held up his hands, moving them in motions as if he was writing in his notebook again. "Oh, that's right! You have a spring quirk, which would help increase your mobility and help you perform more complex dance moves!"

Hitomi sighed, smiling as Nari laughed with the others. The rest of the Bakusquad was still complimenting Yoshiho's cooking, and Hitomi was glad her friends fit right in.

Hitomi was glad her class was so kind.

…

By the suggestion of both Iida and Yaoyorozu, Class 1-A had decided to hold a secret Santa gift exchange, with Nari and Yoshiho included. That way, no one would feel dejected or left out. Now that it was Christmas Day, and everyone had eaten, it was time for the exchange to take place.

Hitomi shot up from her seat, her wrapped present in hand as her eyes scanned the common area. Everyone was up and about trying to find their own gift recipient, and Hitomi's eyes were finally able to hone in on Tooru's floating clothes. She made her way over, poking the invisible girl in the back to get her attention.

"Ah, Hitomi!" Tooru exclaimed, her clothes turning around to face the bluenette. "Are you my…"

Hitomi smiled, holding up her gift. "Yup, I am! Merry Christmas, Tooru!"

Tooru took it from Hitomi's hands, the present looking as if it was floating in the air as she tore the wrapping paper off. She gasped in surprise as she realized it was a plush blanket with an adorable polar bear pattern printed on it. Tooru unfolded it, wrapping it around her shoulders.

"Thank you, Hitomi!" she squealed, Hitomi feeling her arms squished to her sides in what was likely a hug. "I love it!"

Hitomi patted her back, letting Tooru pull away as the invisible girl twirled around, the blanket twirling with her.

Hitomi smiled as Tooru thanked her one last time before running off, likely to give her gift to whoever was her recipient.

_I suppose now I should just sit and wait to find out who's _my _Secret Santa…_

Right as she was about to make her way to the couches, someone tapped her shoulder, stopping her. Hitomi glanced behind her, Aoyama staring expectantly at her.

She turned to face him fully, tilting her head to the side. "I'm guessing you're my…"

Aoyama nodded, pushing his gift into Hitomi's arms and striking a flamboyant pose. "That's right! You've been graced with _me_ as your Secret Santa, dear Kanetsukabe! Don't be hasty now, go ahead and open it!"

Hitomi giggled at Aoyama's over the top nature, ripping the wrapping paper off of her gift. She burst out laughing at what it was.

"R-Really, Aoyama…?" she snickered, staring at the photo of himself. He had a rose in his mouth, sparkles photoshopped into the background around him.

Aoyama struck another pose, his mouth in a wide grin. "Well? Well? Isn't it just the best?!"

Hitomi continued to laugh, giving him a nod. "Sure, yeah. It's great."

"Well, it doesn't just stop there, Kanetsukabe! Look closer, _mon amie._"

Hitomi's giggles finally died down, the bluenette realizing the photo was sitting on top of a book. Hitomi moved the photo out of the way, gaping at the title.

_A Beginner's Guide to Romance: How to Woo Your Crush 101._

Hitomi had accidentally spilled her feelings about Bakugou to Aoyama and someone else a few months back. She had been frustrated, and in the spur of the moment, blurted out the identity of her crush in front of the two of them. Surprisingly enough, Aoyama hadn't said a word to her about it since then. At least, not until now.

"A-Aoyama," Hitomi stuttered, feeling blood beginning to rush to her cheeks. "What's this…?"

Aoyama wagged a finger at her, a smirk on his face. "A guide, my friend! You want to win the affection of your love, _non?"_

"L-Love?!" Hitomi spluttered, pulling the book to her chest so no one could see it. "He's not my…"

Aoyama patted her shoulder, giving her a bright smile. "I wish you luck in winning his heart. Bak-"

Hitomi covered his mouth, stopping him from saying Bakugou's name. "Aoyama…!" she berated him, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Not here! Don't say his name…!"

Aoyama nodded, prompting Hitomi to tentatively remove her hand from his face. Aoyama placed a hand on his chin, a knowing glint in his eye. "He would be a fool not to notice your sparkle, _mon amie._"

Hitomi laughed sheepishly, cradling the book as she gave him an embarrassed smile. "Right… Thanks."

…

Once the Secret Santa gift exchange had finished, there were still a few more presents Hitomi had for her close friends. They were small, little knickknacks or trinkets that weren't costly so she didn't completely blow her allowance.

The Bakusquad (plus Nari) had tackled her in a huge hug when she presented them with their gifts, everyone toppling over in a huge cuddle pile with Hitomi squished at the bottom.

There was a mix of "thank you's" and "I love you's" among other things from the group, Hitomi blushing profusely at everyone's kind words. Once they'd finally broke their cuddle pile, there were only two presents left for Hitomi to give.

Yoshiho had been sitting at the kitchen table, quietly reading through the list of songs on the heavy metal CD Jirou had gotten her as her Secret Santa gift. When Hitomi had come over, presenting her with the small rose keychain she'd gotten her, Yoshiho had given her a small smile, humbly saying "Thanks."

All that was left was one more.

Hitomi cradled the thin wrapped box against her chest, wandering around the penthouse common area. Her eyes were searching for that spiky ash blonde hair she knew so well, but he was nowhere in sight. Hitomi strolled past the living room, going back into the hall where everyone's rooms were. She knocked on the door of the room he shared with the boys of the Bakusquad, waiting for any indication anyone was inside. The room was eerily silent on the other side, leaving Hitomi to assume no one was there.

She sighed, stepping back. She turned to head back to her room, wanting to put her gift for him away and hopefully just give it to him tomorrow morning. Right as she was about to grab the door handle, her silver eyes fell on the end of the hallway. Hitomi recalled Yaoyorozu mentioning it led to a door that opened to the balcony if you turned the corner there, and found her legs drifting towards it.

_Maybe he's…_

Hitomi stopped in front of the door, seeing the silhouette of Bakugou's hair through the glass.

_Ah._

Hitomi grabbed the doorknob, swinging the door open softly. Bakugou was seated on one of the patio sofas, typing away on his phone. Hitomi made her way over slowly, the soft patter of her slippers against the tile catching his attention.

"The party's inside, y'know."

Hitomi stopped beside him, watching as he sent a message (she guessed it was to his parents) before he switched his phone off, stashing it in his pocket. "I've had enough social interaction for one day."

Hitomi hummed, cradling her gift closer to her chest as she watched him take a sip of his water. Before she could hesitate, she plopped herself into the spot next to him. She felt Bakugou's stare boring into her, her arms tightening around the gift she'd gotten for him.

"...So why are you here?" he huffed. "Aren't your friends inside?"

"Nari and Yoshiho could be your friends too, if you'd just let them already."

Bakugou rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat. "I see enough of Paste Face at our license course lessons. And Pudding Head is loud."

"All of your friends are loud, dummy. Just like you."

"Not you," Bakugou shot back. "_You're_ quiet as fuck. It's like talking to a tree."

Hitomi whined, poking his shoulder. "Hush! Trees don't talk, but I do! So you can't make that comparison."

Bakugou pushed her hand away gently, before resting his foot against the edge of the coffee table. "Sure. Believe what you want, Moon Face."

Hitomi puffed her cheeks out, pulling her legs up against her chest. "Hmph."

"You also never answered my question."

"Huh?

Bakugou rolled his eyes again, pointing over his shoulder at the balcony entrance. "Why are you here and not with everyone else? Pay attention."

"Ah… that's…" Hitomi blushed, her attention turning back to the wrapped present in her arms. She shifted in her seat so she was facing him, holding the gift out to him. "This is for you, actually."

Bakugou raised a brow. "You're not my Secret Santa. Four-Eyes was my Secret Santa."

"This isn't for that," Hitomi mumbled, feeling shy. She pushed the gift towards him, staring at the wrapping paper. It was orange, his favorite color, with a simple white Christmas tree and snowflake pattern for the design.

"I got extra gifts for all my friends," Hitomi said quietly, her blush deepening. "And… that includes you." She gestured to the gift again, pushing it up against his arm. "Take it."

Bakugou stared at the gift in disbelief, not uttering a single word. He took it silently from her hands, staring at it blankly.

"D-Don't just stare at it…!" Hitomi stammered. "Just open it!"

Bakugou scoffed, beginning to peel the wrapping paper away. "Wow, impatient much?"

Hitomi's cheeks became an even darker shade of red, watching as he discarded the wrapping paper and began opening unfolding the thin cardboard box. "I need to know if you like it or not...!"

She scooted closer, holding her breath in anticipation as Bakugou finally uncovered what was inside. It was a set of comic books, 3 or so, with a burly and stoic-looking man on the cover.

"I don't know if you actually read these," Hitomi began, "but… that guy on the cover has the same symbol you have on all those skull shirts of yours, right? So I just thought…"

Her eyes finally trailed up to his face, only to see he was wearing a stunned expression.

Hitomi faltered, feeling disappointment bubble in her chest. "Oh, do you not…"

"Kanetsukabe." Bakugou glanced at her, giving her a hard stare. "Where did you find these?"

"Eh?" Hitomi sat back in her seat, fiddling with her hair. "I just found it at a thrift store when I was looking for everyone's gifts…"

"Do you have any idea how _rare_ these volumes are?"

Hitomi scratched her cheek, looking sheepish. "No…? I don't really read that sort of thing."

"They don't print these volumes anymore! And you're telling me you found it at a fucking _thrift store?!_"

"Um, yes?" Hitomi clasped her hands together, smiling brightly at him. "Wait, so then, does that mean you like it?!"

"Wha-!" Bakugou's eyes widened, the ash blonde abruptly turning his head away. He spoke quietly, Hitomi barely able to hear him even though they were alone on the silent balcony.

"...I suppose. You got something I actually read, which is lucky for you I guess."

Hitomi couldn't keep herself from blushing, a dopey smile on her face. "That's great!" She settled back into her seat, staring at the stars dotting the sky. "I'm glad you like it, really."

Bakugou only grunted in reply, before proceeding to flip through the pages of one of the comic books. Hitomi chuckled lightly at his eagerness, finding it endearing. She watched as his eyes scanned the pages, feeling that familiar fluttery feeling in her chest.

God, she was in deep.

…

The two of them had sat in silence for about 10 minutes or so, Bakugou reading through one of the comics while Hitomi simply stared at the night sky, admiring the stars. Hitomi could feel her eyelids begin to droop, a sign she was getting sleepy. Right as she yawned, Bakugou snapped the book shut in a huff, snapping Hitomi out of her daze. Hitomi lowered her hand from her mouth, staring at Bakugou fondly.

"Finished already?"

"No."

Hitomi stretched her arms up into the air, feeling the crick in her back relax. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I'll actually head to bed." She rose from her seat, beginning to make her way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bakugou."

"Hold it."

Hitomi stopped, watching in curiosity as Bakugou got up from the couch, holding the comics at his side. She watched as he made his way over to her, reaching into his pocket. Hitomi was taken by surprise as Bakugou shoved a small box into her hands, making her stumble back slightly.

Hitomi blinked, staring at the small blue box. There was a single silver ribbon wrapped around it in a bow. "What is this…?"

Bakugou rubbed the back of his neck, his mouth in a slight scowl. "How dense can you be? It's a fucking Christmas present, Moon Face."

Hitomi felt blood rush to her cheeks, yet she was too tired to feel embarrassed. "You… got something for me…?"

Bakugou scoffed, turning his head away from her. "It was just an extra that came with the gift I got for my old hag! Quit reading so much into things!"

"Oh…" Hitomi laughed bashfully. "Right. Sorry about that."

"...Thanks."

That woke Hitomi up. At least, just a bit.

"What?"

Bakugou brushed past her, stopping in front of the door. "...For the gift," he grumbled. "And for keeping me from freezing to death yesterday. I'm… _sorry_… I let you get hurt, even though I promised your pudding head friend I wouldn't let that happen."

Hitomi stared at him, watching as he scratched the back of his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm all better, see?" Bakugou glanced at her, watching as she stamped her foot to prove her point. "It's no worries."

Bakugou turned back to the door, his hand hovering over the handle. "Right."

Hitomi stepped forward, stopping right next to him. "While we're at it, I guess I'll say thank you, for the present! Even if you didn't mean for it to be for me, I'm grateful for it anyway."

Hitomi closed her eyes as she smiled adoringly at him, missing the way Bakugou's cheeks flushed ever so slightly. Bakugou pushed open the door, stepping into the hall as he let his bangs cover his face.

"Yeah." He hesitated for a moment, before mumbling quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "...Merry Christmas, Kanetsukabe."

Hitomi was taken aback, for only a second, before deciding to dismiss her surprise. "Merry Christmas, Bakugou!"

Bakugou gave her a curt nod, before making his way down the hall and disappearing into his room. Hitomi watched as the door closed behind him, before finally turning to the small cardboard box in her hands. She undid the ribbon, pulling the top off. Her eyes widened as she saw what was inside.

It was a bracelet, with gems representing the planets of the solar system and some small stars weaved together with a silver chain. Hitomi glanced at the door of Bakugou's room, before looking back at the bracelet.

He'd said it was an extra that came with something he'd gotten for his mother. And knowing him, it wasn't a lie. But this…

It felt so _personal_, so specific to _her._

From the things Bakugou shared about his family, Hitomi could garner his mother wasn't as into science and space as she was.

That meant he'd gone out of his way to choose something for his mother that would come with something _Hitomi_ would like.

Hitomi closed the box, her cheeks bright red and the fluttery feeling in her chest becoming stronger.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, like when he'd gotten her those earrings for her birthday.

But she knew one thing was for sure.

Hitomi Kanetsukabe was _completely, utterly in love _with Katsuki Bakugou.

* * *

**A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed that ridiculous amount of Bakutomi content. Honestly these side stories are all just an excuse to write as many Bakutomi stories as I want. 😂**

**I wanted to finish drawing screenshots of Hitomi with people other than just him, but I just wasn't fast enough. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ (I'll finish them eventually!)**

**I hope I made that one Dekutomi shipper happy with some crumbs XD**

**Aaaand finally some Nari characterization! She's gotten the least attention out of my three OCs, being a mostly flat character while Hitomi and Yoshiho have changed and gotten development (I'm also planning something _special_ for Yoshiho that I'll post here once I finish writing it ;) ) So I figured it was about time I did something about it!**

**Blood, sweat, and tears went into this one-shot, and I literally posted this the minute I finished writing it (I did not edit this monstrosity). So I really really hope you enjoyed it!**

**Happy holidays!**


	4. Love Spell (Valentine's Day Special)

**A/N: Guess who started getting this ready three weeks in advance, so it wouldn't be like last time with the Christmas special? THIS BITCH**

**Guess who still ended up being late? THIS BITCH**

**_NOTES:_**  
**-Takes place during the Cultural Festival Arc, maybe a week or so after the class decided on doing a live show for the festival (I'm so glad we're finally at this arc in the anime, it's my favorite! :D)**  
**-Told from Bakugou's perspective  
****-Bakugou and Hitomi are mutually pining at this point**  
**-Fluff, fluff, and only fluff (well, maybe some slight angst if you squint)**  
**-This thing is sappy okay. Like good god. It's sickening**  
**-Bakugou's a very flustered boi**  
**-I don't think I'll make this canon lol**

**Please check the art for this one-shot! I poured my heart and soul into drawing them, and they were the main reason I was late in posting this on Valentine's Day. So check them out, or heck, read this on AO3 or Wattpad, since the pics are formatted within the chapter already. (Just search up "I Provide Protection" or my username (PuffedGill) on those sites, and you should find my account! :3)**

**Art - Add ****/21e22k5hua90 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

**Megumi Fuyasugi (** ****愛** ****増偽)  
****Quirk: Love Spell (愛の呪縛 ****_Ai no Jubaku_)**

**If you are hit with this quirk, you will fall in love with the first person you make eye contact with. However, the intensity of that love depends on the current way you feel about that person! For example, if you have no romantic feelings for them at all, you'll develop simple infatuation. However, if you're already in love with that person, your feelings will be amplified to a ridiculous degree.**

**How long the quirk's effect will last depends on how strongly the affected's feelings have increased.**

**...**

Bakugou didn't know what the fuck was going on right now.

Getting his feelings played around with, what kind of shitty rom com anime was this?!

When Hitomi had said, and _quite loudly_, "I like you, date me," it had practically fried his brain.

Round Face had taken her to the nurse's office to try and find out how to reverse this shitty situation they'd been put in, and now Hitomi was going to be out of class for the rest of the day.

But Bakugou still didn't know what the _fuck_ was happening.

* * *

_Earlier that day…_

Hitomi was making her way back to the lunchroom, listening to Uraraka talk avidly about how their dance practice was going for the cultural festival. It'd only been a few days since they'd settled on what they were going to do, but Hitomi was already having a lot of fun preparing for it.

As they walked down the hall to their class, there was a group of second-years standing around by the window. They were all laughing pretty loudly about something, starting to get rowdy with each other.

As Uraraka and Hitomi passed by, one of the second-years stepped back, waving her arm at the group sheepishly. "Oh, come on guys!" she laughed. "I'm telling you, it's not that serious-!" She stumbled back into Hitomi, the impact so hard her glasses got jostled and began falling from her face.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

As the glasses slipped down her nose, the girl's head swiveled around to look at Hitomi, the two of them making eye contact. As Hitomi was pushed back, there was suddenly an explosion, the two of them shrouded in pink smoke and the odd scent of chocolate and strawberries.

Bakugou was actually not too far behind the other two girls, making his way back to class by himself. When the smoke finally cleared, Hitomi had opened her eyes to see Bakugou standing over her, holding her up by her arms.

"Fucking hell, Moon Face," he grumbled, staring down at her. "Watch where you're going."

Hitomi didn't say anything, simply staring at him with her eyes wide.

After a few bouts of silence, Bakugou finally hoisted her up, scoffing as he brushed past her to head into their classroom.

Hitomi simply stared at him as he made his way to his seat, before she was finally snapped out of her trance as both Uraraka and the second-year ran over to her.

"Hitomi, are you okay?!"

"Oh my god, I'm _so_ sorry!"

Hitomi shrugged, scratching the back of her neck. "I'm fine. It's no worries."

"No, you don't understand," the second-year protested, holding her hands up worriedly. "You got hit by my quirk…!"

Uraraka slammed her fist on her palm. "I knew it! That pink smoke cloud had to have been for a reason!"

Hitomi's eyes widened, before she pulled back her sleeve, inspecting her arm. "Well, I don't _feel_ any different…"

"Listen, uh, Kanetsukabe, was it?" Hitomi nodded, prompting the girl to place her hand on Hitomi's shoulder. "It won't exactly… _transform_ you, per say. Um, how do I put this…"

The girl pulled her hand away from Hitomi to place a finger on her chin, humming in thought. "It's like… uh…" She nodded, before letting her hand fall to her side. "To put it simply, it makes you fall in love with the first person you make eye contact with."

"EEEH?!" Uraraka exclaimed, feeling worry bubble up for the blunette. "How long is it going to last? Can we reverse it?"

As Uraraka and the second-year discussed the effects of her quirk, Hitomi turned back to the classroom door at the sound of her other classmates returning from the cafeteria. As they entered the room, Hitomi found herself staring at Bakugou through the open doorway. Unconsciously, her legs started drifting towards him, both Uraraka and the second-year too distracted to notice.

Her classmates paid her no mind as she made her way over, as it wasn't out of the ordinary for her to pass by Bakugou since they sat in the same row. The boys of the Bakusquad were seated around Bakugou's desk, conversing together as Bakugou only pretended he wasn't listening. Hitomi stepped in front of his desk, drawing their attention to her as she stared at the ash blonde blankly.

"You need something, 'Tomi?" Kaminari asked her.

They were all startled as Hitomi suddenly slammed her hands on Bakugou's desk, the class falling quiet at the loud sound. Hitomi leaned over the desk slightly, bringing her face closer to Bakugou's.

"I like you," she declared into the silent room. "Date me."

The boys' faces all went blank.

"Eh."

"Eh?"

"_EEEEEEEEEHHHHH?!"_

The entire class erupted into chaos, everyone clamoring around Bakugou's desk at the exchange.

"_A confession?!"_

"_Oh my god!"_

"_Kanetsukabe-san, did you really just-?!"_

"_Holy _shit!"

"_Hitomi and Bakugou, huh?"_

"_Are you being serious right now?"_

"_Hitomi likes _Bakugou?!"

"_Woah_," Kirishima said, struggling to stay upright as Mina jumped on his back trying to get a better look. He suddenly grinned. "Where'd this come from all of a sudden?"

"You have a crush?!" Sero exclaimed.

"ON _BAKUGOU?!" _Kaminari screamed.

"Aaaahh, stop, _stop_!"

Uraraka rushed into the room, waving her arms frantically to stop the class' disarray. "Everyone stop! Calm down!"

The class quieted slightly at Uraraka's orders as the brunette stopped by Hitomi. She faced the class, staring at them all sternly. "This isn't what you think it is! Hitomi got hit with a quirk! Apparently it makes you fall in love with the first person you make eye contact with," Uraraka explained, holding her hands up. "So don't misunderstand the situation!"

At that the class seemed to settle down.

"Aww, just a quirk?" Mina whined, her lips pursed in a pout.

"Thank god," Kaminari breathed out, leaning back in his chair. "I couldn't believe Hitomi would like _Bakugou_ of all people…"

Bakugou finally snapped out of his shock, shooting Kaminari a menacing glare. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

"I do like him!" Hitomi asserted, her fists clenching. "I love Bakugou with all my heart!"

Bakugou's face turned bright red. "_Huh?!"_

"Ahh, Hitomi!" Uraraka grabbed Hitomi's shoulders, trying to pull her away. "Stop, you're embarrassing him! You're under the effects of a quirk right now!"

Hitomi pulled away from her, shaking her head frantically. "It's not just the quirk! My feelings are _real!_"

Bakugou lost all coherent thought.

Uraraka grabbed Hitomi's wrist, finally dragging her away from his desk. "This is bad. Sorry about all this, Bakugou!" she called behind her as they left the classroom. "Hitomi, we're going to the nurse's office."

…

Recovery Girl shined a light in Hitomi's eye, seeing the faint pink line of a heart in her iris. "Tell me again how this happened."

"Right!" The second-year adjusted her glasses, taking a deep breath. "I stumbled into Kanetsukabe, and my glasses fell off. My quirk is activated by both touch and eye contact, and I can't control it, which is why I wear these."

Recovery Girl nodded slowly, putting her light away. "Right. And what does it do?"

"Essentially, you fall in love with the first person you make eye contact with. But, well, the… intensity, I guess? Of that love, it depends on how you already feel about that person."

Recovery Girl turned to Uraraka. "And what happened after she got hit?"

Uraraka scratched the back of her head. "She… confessed to Bakugou. She asked him to go out with her, and said she loved him with all her heart."

"I see. It seems the first person she made eye contact with was Bakugou, then." Recovery Girl shook her head, sighing. "Oh, that poor boy, getting his feelings played around with…"

"Wait," the second-year chimed in. "If she said something like _that_, does that mean… Kanetsukabe, do you _like_ Bakugou?"

Hitomi nodded avidly, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "I do! I love him!"

Uraraka let out an exhale. "I think that's just the quirk talking. Hitomi and Bakugou are really good friends, so I guess it's not out of the question for her 'love' to be this strong."

The second-year looked unconvinced, but nodded nonetheless. "...Right."

She highly doubted Uraraka's words. There's no way platonic love could turn into _this._ But, if her kouhai hadn't realized Hitomi may hold some not-so-platonic feelings for Bakugou, she wasn't going to push it. It wasn't her place to pry.

The four of them all turned to the sound of the door opening, seeing Aizawa entering the room. He scratched the back of his head, sighing as he made his way over. "Explain to me how Kanetsukabe ended up here."

Recovery Girl, Uraraka, and the second-year all relayed the story to Aizawa, while Hitomi simply swung her legs back and forth on the bed, staring at her own shoes.

After Uraraka had finished explaining everything to their homeroom teacher, Aizawa picked his ear absentmindedly. "I can't reverse it."

"Eh? You can't?!"

Aizawa shook his head. "The quirk's already been put into effect and 'changed' her, so to say. If I used my quirk on Kanetsukabe, it'd only erase _her_ quirk, not Fuyasugi's. And if I used Erasure on Fuyasagi _now_, it'd only prevent her from using it further, not cancel out what's already been done."

Recovery Girl sighed sighed. "I was afraid of that."

"All you can do now is let the effects of Love Spell run its course. How long is it supposed to last?"

Fuyasugi hummed in thought. "It depends on how strongly their feelings have increased. For Kanetsukabe, though, I'd give an estimate of about 2 whole days or so."

"Will this hinder her studies?"

The second-year's eyebrows furrowed. "It might. Based on what happened earlier at lunch today, she'll probably want to be near Bakugou as much as she can. It might be better to keep them separated."

"Eh?" Hitomi cut in, finally participating in the discussion. "You're going to separate us?!"

Uraraka waved her arms at the bluenette, trying to give her a reassuring smile. "O-Only for a little, Hitomi! Just until the quirk wears off!"

Hitomi looked distraught. "But… I don't want to be away from him! Being away from him…" She cradled her hand against her chest, grasping her shirt and crumpling her uniform. "It hurts to not be able to see him!"

Aizawa stared at her with a deadpan expression, his eyebrow twitching slightly. "This is going to be a problem. Uraraka."

"Yes?"

"I'm leaving you in charge of keeping her in line. If she starts to get out of hand, you have my permission to use your quirk on her until she settles down. Now take her back to the dorms. You're both excused from class and your remedial lessons for the rest of the day."

Uraraka nodded, pulling Hitomi up from the bed and keeping a firm grip on her friend's wrist. "Right! You can count on me, sensei! Now come on, Hitomi, let's go."

* * *

"HITOMI, _STOP!"_

Uraraka lunged for the bluenette, only for Hitomi to turn the corner and cause Uraraka to nosedive to the floor.

"Ack!"

"Bakugou!"

Their classmates turned to the sound of the voice as they stepped through the front door, only for Hitomi to shove past them and tackle Bakugou in a big hug.

"WHA-?!"

"Welcome home, Bakugou!" Hitomi said cheerfully, smiling brightly at him.

Even Bakugou's ears were red at their sudden closeness. "WH-WHAT THE _HELL?!"_

"Eeeehh?" Kaminari whined. "Why can't Hitomi greet _me_ like that?"

Bakugou grabbed Hitomi's shoulder, shooting him a death stare. "Shut up, you fucking dumbass! This is from that shitty quirk, remember?!"

Mina smiled mischievously at the ash blonde. "But you like it, don't you? Must be nice!"

Bakugou's face turned even _redder_. "SH-SHUT UP! NO I DON'T!"

Hitomi tilted her head up, closing her eyes. Everyone fell silent at the action.

"...the fuck are you doing?"

"Waiting for a kiss," Hitomi said nonchalantly.

Bakugou's brain practically exploded.

The Bakusquad burst out laughing, some of their classmates shaking their heads in exasperation as they headed on to their rooms.

"_HITOMI!"_

Uraraka had finally picked herself up from the floor, trying to pull Hitomi away from Bakugou with all her might. Hitomi was stubborn, keeping an iron grip on the poor boy.

"Hitomi!" Uraraka scolded her. "Let go!"

"No!"

Bakugou had finally recovered from his daze, grabbing Hitomi's arms and doing his best to pry them off of him. "Let go!"

"But whyyyy?" Hitomi whined. "I haven't gotten my kiss yet!"

"I'M NOT FUCKING KISSING YOU!"

Hitomi flinched at that, finally letting go. "Oh…"

In the blink of an eye she was crouching on the floor, facing the wall as she sulked.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Bakugou screeched.

Mina, Kaminari and Sero started laughing even _harder_, the latter bending over and slapping his leg, unable to stay upright.

"STOP LAUGHING!"

Uraraka ran over to Hitomi, crouching down next to her and patting her back. "Hitomi," she started slowly. "You need to go back to your room."

Hitomi shook her head, Uraraka noticing she was sniffling. "I'm not moving from this spot," she mumbled.

The brunette rubbed her back tenderly, trying to convince her. "Come on. Why not?"

Hitomi suddenly burst into tears, her loud cries making Bakugou and Uraraka flinch. "Bakugou won't kiss me!" she wailed. "Even though I love him so much!"

"No, you don't!" Bakugou screamed, his entire face red. "You're under a fucking _quirk_, Moon Face!"

Hitomi's cries got even louder, more tears flowing down her cheeks. "I do! My feelings aren't fake, _Baka_-gou!"

Bakugou's jaw clenched in irritation. He hadn't heard her call him that since Yaoyorozu's birthday. "Yes, they are!" he argued back.

The Bakusquad members were still rolling around on the floor laughing, the three of them holding their stomachs as they struggled to breathe.

Hitomi got up from the floor, wiping her tears. "If you don't believe me…" She suddenly lunged for Bakugou, throwing her arms out towards him. "I'll prove it!"

Bakugou flinched back, tripping on the genkan step as Hitomi was heading straight for him. There was suddenly a pink glow, Hitomi getting lifted up into the air. Uraraka was holding onto her wrist, keeping her from floating all the way to the ceiling.

"Finally got her!" Uraraka cheered, her grip firm. Hitomi flailed as she stayed afloat, trying to reach for the poor boy who'd been backed into the front door.

"Uraraka!" Hitomi whined, her arm outstretched as she floated so she was upside down. "Let me kiss him!"

Uraraka pulled her away, finally giving Bakugou a chance to breathe. "No, Hitomi!" she scolded, sounding much like an exasperated mother berating their child. "Stop forcing yourself onto him!"

Hitomi's eyes shone with tears. "But, I…"

"Think about how Bakugou feels!" Uraraka exclaimed, giving her a stern glare. "If you love him so much, you don't want to make him uncomfortable, right? Wouldn't you rather wait until he wants to kiss _you_, so he can show how much he loves you?"

Bakugou practically choked on his own spit. "_WHAT?!"_

Hitomi sniffled, wiping her nose. She gave a timid nod in agreement. "...Yes."

Uraraka huffed, heading to the elevators to take the bluenette back to her bedroom.

"Sorry, Bakugou!" she called over her shoulder as she dragged Hitomi away. "I'm going to try keeping a closer eye on her this time!"

Bakugou watched as they promptly left, in utter disbelief. Mina, Sero, and Kaminari had finally picked themselves up from the floor, wiping their tears.

"...what the _hell_ was that?" Bakugou muttered.

"_That_ was gold," Sero chuckled.

Mina elbowed Bakugou, giving him a smirk. "Well~? Whatcha gonna do about this whole thing? Hitomi said she loves you, after all!"

Bakugou brushed past her, the three of them trailing after him to go to their rooms. "Nothing," he growled. "She's only saying that because she got hit with a fucking _quirk_. Were you not listening to Round Face earlier?!"

Mina pouted as the four of them waited for the elevator. "Ehhh? You're no fun!"

"Say…" Kaminari hummed as the doors finally opened, the group stepping inside. "What are we gonna do about band practice if she's acting like _that?_"

"We can't just sit around and wait for the quirk to wear off," Bakugou huffed. "We'll just have to carry on practice like normal."

…

There's no way they could carry on like normal with Hitomi like _this._

Jirou, Kaminari, Tokoyami, and Yaoyorozu all watched exasperatedly as Bakugou screamed, trying his best to pry Hitomi off of him as he pushed her face away.

"STOP! WE HAVE TO PRACTICE!"

"I know!" Hitomi whined. "But I want a kiss first!"

"I already said, I'm not kissing you!"

Instead of sulking against the wall and crying like the last time, Hitomi only tried leaning in closer, continuing to whine. "Why noooot? Just one! Pleaaaaase?"

"NO!" Bakugou shrieked, leaning back as far as he could while still being stuck in Hitomi's arms. "NO WAY IN HELL!"

"But why?! I gotta show you how much I love you!"

Bakugou's face turned bright red at that last part. "B-Because!" he stuttered, still struggling against Hitomi's hold. "Taking advantage of you and _stealing_ your first kiss, that's the worst thing someone could do, you idiot! Save it for someone you actually like!"

"But I _do_ like you!"

Bakugou spluttered, choking on his own spit and struggling to form any coherent words as Kaminari finally lost it, bursting into laughter. Yaoyorozu stepped forward, feeling the need to step in.

"Bakugou-san," she said delicately, "we aren't going to get anything done today if Hitomi keeps whining like this."

"THEN WHY COULDN'T ROUND FACE JUST WATCH HER LIKE AIZAWA SAID TO?!"

Tokoyami tuned his guitar, plucking the strings. "Uraraka must also practice. She has her own part to play, after all."

Jirou nodded along with him. "Yeah. The festival's in two weeks, and Hitomi still needs to practice, too. Three days is a lot to lose, and we don't want to mess up our show, right?"

Hitomi tried diving in for another kiss, but Bakugou barely dodged it and shoved her face away. "Then what the _fuck_ are we supposed to do about this?!"

Kaminari wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes, finally calmed down from his laughter. "If this is really such a problem…

Why not give her what she wants?"

Bakugou practically took a spit take.

"_WHAT?!"_ he screeched. "Did you seriously not hear a _word_ of what I just said?! I'm not stealing Kanetsukabe's first kiss, asshole!"

"What a strange way to phrase it," Kaminari mumbled to himself, suppressing the urge to laugh again.

Jirou hummed in thought. "You know what, that could actually work!"

"_HUH?!"_

Hitomi was still whining, completely ignorant to the conversation happening around her.

Jirou snapped her fingers, pointing at Bakugou. "She said we can start practice as soon as she gets a kiss, right? So, why not just do it? If she keeps complaining about this, we might not get anything done today."

Bakugou's face was never going to return to its original color. "ARE YOU FUCKING _HIGH_ OR SOME SHIT?!"

"Perhaps it doesn't have to be a direct kiss," Tokoyami stated absentmindedly, still tuning his guitar. "A kiss on the cheek could suffice."

"Hitomi," Yaoyorozu said, placing a hand on the other girl's shoulder. Hitomi finally turned her head away from Bakugou, staring at her curiously. "You'd be okay with a kiss on the cheek, right?"

Hitomi nodded avidly. "Yeah! Anything to show my love!"

Yaoyorozu stared at Bakugou sternly. "There's your answer, Bakugou-san."

Bakugou choked on air, his face _so very much _red.

He tried to say something, _anything_ to protest against this, say this was stupid, but all the words died in his throat. Finally, he relented, grumbling as he loosened his grip on Hitomi's arms.

_I can't believe we're fucking doing this,_ he thought to himself.

Bakugou closed his eyes, tense as he felt Hitomi's stare. "W-Well…?" he mumbled. "...Hurry it up, Moon Face. Cheek only." He peeked an eye open to see Hitomi smile brightly at him, trying to squash the jitters in his stomach that came from the sight of it.

Bakugou closed his eyes again as Hitomi leaned forward, feeling her press her lips against his cheek. Her lips felt warm, soft, and it only made more blood rush to his face. Bakugou finally opened his eyes as Hitomi pulled away, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

He watched as she brushed some of her blue hair behind her ear, gulping as she stared at him expectantly.

"What…?"

Hitomi turned her head to the side, looking like she was waiting for something. "I kissed you, so now it's your turn," she hummed.

Bakugou flinched, stepping back. "WHA-!"

He turned back to the rest of the band, only to see everyone nod at him, sending the message to just do it. Bakugou scowled, his hands trembling as he turned back to Hitomi, seeing she was still waiting.

"If I do this," Bakugou huffed, "do you _promise_ to let us move on to band practice…?"

Hitomi nodded, pushing some more of her hair back. "Promise!"

Bakugou gulped, the jitters in his stomach becoming too erratic to ignore. He stepped forward tentatively, his hands shaking as he placed his hands on Hitomi's shoulders.

Unlike Hitomi's, his kiss was quick, abrupt, and Bakugou was a blushing mess. He felt like an elementary schooler kissing his first crush.

Once he'd pulled away, he heard whistling behind him, turning around to see Kaminari cupping his hands around his mouth. "Bakugou out here _gettin' it!_" he cheered.

Bakugou made incoherent noises, his voice garbled in his throat as he held back the urge to lunge for Kaminari and possibly break his guitar.

"Fuck _off_, Dunce Face!"

Hitomi giggled, smiling in satisfaction as she stepped towards her mic. "No need to be shy, Bakugou!" she laughed, grasping the handle. "There's nothing wrong with showing how much I love you."

"That's- you- you're _not-_ _UGH!_" Bakugou stomped towards his drum set, completely fed up. He plopped himself into his seat, grabbing his drumsticks. "I've had enough of this bullfuckery," he scowled. "Let's just get this over with already."

As he tapped his drumsticks to launch their band into the beginning of the song, the thought lingered in the back of his mind...

_Stop saying you love me._

_Stop playing with my feelings._

_Stop telling me _lies.

* * *

After 24 hours, Bakugou had already stopped bothering.

Hitomi was relentless, wanting to be with him whenever she could, _extremely_ adamant about kissing him. The only times Hitomi _didn't_ try her damndest to be close to him was during class, too fearful of Aizawa's wrath to try anything.

Uraraka had used her quirk on Hitomi too many times to count in the day and a half Hitomi had been affected so far, often having to drag her away like she was a balloon. Uraraka was doing her best to keep Hitomi and Bakugou separated, but there was only so much she could do. She couldn't keep an eye on her every waking minute of the day.

And that's why Bakugou was sitting on the couch defeatedly, trying to read his book as Hitomi was snuggled up against his arm. He'd blown through his homework unbelievably fast, and for once, found the common area was empty. He'd decided to read a book on the couches while he still had the chance, not in the mood to stay cooped up in his room all day.

Unfortunately for him, since he'd finished his homework so fast, that meant Round Face and the rest of the work study group were still at their remedial lessons.

Which meant no one was around to make sure Hitomi didn't bother him.

Bakugou sighed as he turned the page, trying to ignore the fact his other arm had been essentially immobilized because Hitomi was hugging it.

When he'd first seen the common area was empty, he'd gone back to his room, intending to bring a book down to read. Luck just wasn't on his side, because when he came down the second time, Hitomi was down there too, rummaging through the cupboards to likely find a snack.

Bakugou had tried to be discreet, not wanting to go back to his room just because _Hitomi_ was there. He wasn't going to just _run away!_ He was going to hang out in the common room like he wanted to.

So he tried to be sneaky, creeping to the couches as quietly as he could so Hitomi wouldn't notice him. He'd almost made it, before he hit his foot on the table leg on accident and swore. _Very loudly._

So now Bakugou was sitting in the common area, trying to read with Hitomi practically glued to his arm.

"Hey, hey, Bakugou," Hitomi droned, finally breaking the silence. "Whatcha reading?"

She leaned over, finally letting go of his arm and flopping over to lay in his lap. Bakugou's breath hitched at the sudden closeness, the boy abruptly pulling his book out of the way. His cheeks turned red as Hitomi rolled over in his lap to look up at him, her large silver eyes making it hard for him to concentrate.

"Bakugoooooouu," Hitomi drawled, making him realize he was staring. He quickly turned his attention back to his book, trying his best to ignore the fact the girl he liked was literally _lying in his lap._

"Bakugou," Hitomi said again, tugging his shirt. "Tell me what you're reading."

Bakugou sighed, placing his thumb on the page he was reading and closing the book around it. He looked to the side, avoiding Hitomi's stare. "A mystery novel about this guy who finds a letter telling him he lost his memories," Bakugou mumbled. "He can either choose to move on or try to get his memories back, and so far he's been trying to find ways to remember. Apparently something horrible happened to whoever sent him the letter, but I haven't found out what that is yet."

"Mystery novel, huh…?" Hitomi hummed. She smiled fondly at him, nuzzling herself further into his lap. "You sure like those kinds of things, huh? Stuff that makes you think."

Bakugou huffed, opening his book to continue reading. "You're the same," he mumbled. "Although, I guess it's not as nerdy as the science shit you love so much."

"But it's so interesting, though!" Hitomi pouted. She tugged his shirt again, puffing her cheeks out. "Learning about the stars, the planets, seeing how science-fiction can utilize those and come up with new things. Even if it _is_ nerdy, you can't tell me that's not cool."

"Only a nerd like you would say 'utilize' in a normal sentence," Bakugou snorted, turning the page.

Hitomi hmphed in response, before closing her eyes. Bakugou hadn't realized she'd gone quiet, too caught up in his book until the work study group returned from their remedial lessons, 30 minutes later.

"Hey, Bakugou!" Uraraka exclaimed, snapping him out of his reading. She skipped over to the couches, leaning over the backrest. "Not too much trouble with Hitomi, I hope? _Oh._" She blinked, taking in the sight of Hitomi resting in his lap, breathing softly.

Midoriya stopped beside the brunette, his eyebrows raising into his hair. "She's asleep," he pointed out.

Bakugou paused, looking down to see that yes, Hitomi _had_ decided to take a nap right now. His face flushed as the embarrassment came flooding in. "Wha-!"

Kirishima joined them, grinning as he took in his best friend's sleeping form. "She looks so peaceful."

"So Bakugou," Uraraka started, clapping her fingers together, "Hitomi didn't bother you _too_ much, did she…?"

Bakugou grunted, snapping his book shut quietly as he willed his blush to fade. "...Not really. We've just been sitting here for a while now."

Uraraka breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness… Well, I'm going to head up to my room, then. The quirk will probably wear off by tomorrow. It doesn't seem like she'll cause too much trouble right now since she's sleeping, but let me know if you need me to watch her."

The work study group gave him waves (or a polite nod, in Tokoyami's case) as they made their way to the elevators to go back to their rooms. As the doors slid open, some of their classmates stepped out, making idle chatter and likely done with their homework.

"Hey, Bakugou!" Kaminari said cheerfully, making his way over. He stopped by the edge of the couch, blinking at the sight of Hitomi. "Oooh, what's this~? Thought you didn't like her being this way. Who would've thought you would've been all lovey dovey with her as soon as you two were alone!"

All the blush came rushing back to Bakugou's face as Kaminari winked, shooting him a smirk. "You sly dog!"

"Sh-Shut the fuck up!" Bakugou spluttered, his voice hushed. "I'm not being _lovey dovey…!_"

"Suuuuure you aren't," Kaminari drawled. "Bet that's totally why you haven't moved a muscle, and why you're talking quietly so you don't wake her up."

Bakugou scowled, gritting his teeth. "If she wakes up," he growled, his voice sounding subdued, "I'm gonna have to deal with her tackling me trying to get another kiss from me!"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Bakugou choked on his own spit, his face extremely red as he finally shoved Kaminari's face away. "Asshole!"

Kaminari stumbled, letting out a whine. "I'm just joking around!" he pouted. "She'll be better by tomorrow anyway, right?"

"So Round Face says."

Kaminari hummed in response, before he ran over to the others hanging around in the dining area, likely to talk with them and finally give Bakugou some space.

Bakugou listened to their loud chatter as he stared at Hitomi sleeping in his lap, his eyes narrowing in contemplation.

_Moon Face can't sleep properly if people are talking around her._

He huffed, stashing his book in his pocket as he scooted away slightly. He maneuvered off the couch, doing his best to keep Hitomi from waking up. He was successful, sliding off the couch quietly while Hitomi hardly stirred. Once he had finally stood up, he stared at her for a few more seconds, eyes narrowed in contemplation once again.

_...Not to mention fucking _grape shit _might do something if I just leave her here._

Bakugou kissed his teeth, grumbling to himself as he pushed his hands underneath her, picking her up from the couch. Hitomi hardly made any sound, simply curling into herself as Bakugou carried her to the elevators. No one noticed as he pressed the button, stepping inside.

Bakugou stared at the doors as the elevator hummed, taking the two of them up to the fourth floor.

Holding Hitomi like this…

How often did he do this?

Carry her like this. Carry her like they'd just gotten married or some shit.

Bakugou's face flushed at the thought.

He carried Hitomi to her room as soon as the elevator doors opened, rolling his eyes as he found that Hitomi had left her door unlocked, like always.

She needed to be more careful about just leaving her room unlocked when she wasn't inside. She was too kind, too trusting to believe no one would sneak in, especially when the scummy _embodiment of lust_ was in their class.

But he supposed Hitomi was just nice like that.

Or she was just forgetful.

He wouldn't put it past her, since she could be such a klutz…

Bakugou shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts from swirling into that _stupid_ lovesick spiral he found himself in sometimes. He couldn't help it, goddammit! Hitomi was too fucking… _cute._ She was so… _herself._ So nerdy, so dorky, so smart, so _nice…_

Bakugou dropped Hitomi onto her bed gently, the mattress bouncing slightly. She rolled over so she was facing him, making herself comfortable as Bakugou pulled her nerdy space blanket over her. He stared at her for a bit, thinking back on how this whole shitty situation had started.

Of course her confessing to him was because of a fucking _quirk._

Bakugou frowned, his mood effectively soured. Right as he stepped away from the bed, ready to leave, Hitomi began mumbling something, her voice soft.

"Bakugou…"

He stopped, staring at her expectantly.

"...I love you."

Bakugou blushed slightly, his lips pursed in a thin line as he saw some of her hair fall in front of her face.

_She's dreaming._

Bakugou's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes troubled as he stepped towards the bed again, crouching down so his face was level with hers.

"Me too," he mumbled quietly, brushing the stray strand of hair behind her ear tenderly. "I love you, too."

* * *

Band practice went on like normal.

Once Hitomi had woken up from her nap, she, _surprisingly_, did not ask for anything in return after giving her kiss to Bakugou on the cheek. She simply practiced with the band as if she hadn't been hit with the stupid quirk at all, save for those loving glances she gave him whenever Jirou had her solo.

Bakugou couldn't handle it.

Seeing her look at him like he was the only thing in her entire world, it flustered him to no end.

Not to mention knowing it wasn't real _really_ pissed him off.

After they'd finally decided to stop for the day, Hitomi plopped herself into the seat right next to him, trying to feed him dinner.

"Here, Bakugou." She smiled, pushing a spoonful of curry towards his mouth as he leaned away. "Say 'aah~!'"

Bakugou scowled, suppressing the urge to bat the spoon away and waste food. "No! Eat your own damn food!"

Hitomi pouted, pushing the spoon closer. "But I wanna feed you first!"

Instead of batting the spoon away, Bakugou swiped it from her hand, shoving it in his mouth. "You're not fucking feeding me! I can eat by myself!" he growled, his voice muffled from the food in his mouth.

Hitomi poked his shoulder, puffing her cheeks out. "Don't talk with your mouth full, dummy."

Bakugou rolled his eyes, swallowing the curry before pulling his food as far away as he could from Hitomi so she wouldn't try feeding him again. The bluenette whined in response, trying to reach only for Bakugou to hold her back as he continued to eat. After a few bouts of struggling, she finally gave up, sighing and turning back to her own food.

Hitomi moped, swamped in a depressive aura as she poked her food. Bakugou tried to ignore her as he ate, looking away as he chewed on his spicy chicken curry. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore, letting out a growl as he shoved his plate towards her.

Hitomi stared at it unsurely, unable to quell the hope in her eyes.

"Quit being all _mopey_, dumbass," Bakugou huffed, keeping his eyes glued straight ahead. "If you really wanna do it that bad… you can feed me the last bite. Just… stop acting so sad. It bugs me." He lowered his voice, mumbling only to himself so Hitomi couldn't hear him. "...A smile fits you better, anyway."

True to his word, there was one spoonful of rice and curry left on the plate. Hitomi grinned widely, picking up the spoon. She held it up to his face, keeping a hand underneath it in case any food fell off. "Bakugou, say 'aah'!"

Bakugou turned his head slightly so his mouth was in the spoon's path, his eyes averted to the wall across from their table as he tried not to let any blush show. Right as he opened his mouth to eat the curry, Hitomi pulled the spoon away.

"Hey!" Bakugou scowled. "What the hell?! I thought you were gonna feed me!"

_What the fuck just came out of my mouth._

Never in a million years did he think he was gonna say some stupid couple-y shit like _that._

Hitomi stared at him unamused. "You didn't say 'ah'," she stated matter-of-factly.

Some tick marks appeared on Bakugou's face as he clenched his jaw. "What?! I'm not doing that!"

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed, and-

_Oh fucking hell._

"Please?"

She was pulling her goddamn _puppy dog eyes_.

Bakugou wished he could just leave.

Just stand up from his chair, say "Fuck this," and go back to his room.

But he couldn't. Say. No. To goddamn _Hitomi._

Especially when she was doing those stupid eyes and looking all cute that saying no would be like denying a starving kitten its meal!

_God. Fucking. __**DAMMIT!**_

_Stupid fucking feelings!_

Bakugou gripped his pant leg, digging his nails so hard into his palm through the fabric that he wouldn't be surprised if they broke through his skin. He leaned towards her, feeling nervous jitters in his stomach as his mouth opened slightly. "...Ah."

His face was probably as red as a fucking _fire truck._

He noticed Hitomi blush, before she smiled, feeding him the last of his dinner. As soon as he ate the curry he sprang up from his chair, tossing his plate in the sink and sprinting to his room like his life depended on it. Bakugou burst into his room, closing the door behind him and crashing onto his bed.

He grabbed his pillow, covered his face, and screamed into it with every fiber of his being.

"_FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID FUCKING CUTE FACE!"_

* * *

Today.

Today was the day.

Today was the day this torturous hell would end.

Today was the day Love Spell would finally wear off.

Bakugou was just waiting, at this point.

Waiting, as Hitomi greeted him cheerfully in the morning, holding his arm as the class walked to the main building.

Waiting, as Hitomi plopped herself onto his desk during break, smiling cheekily at him.

Waiting, as Hitomi tried feeding him _again_ during lunch, only for Uraraka to drag her away and end up causing a scene.

It had now been a complete 48 hours since Hitomi got hit with Love Spell. Two whole days.

And she wasn't back to normal yet.

Bakugou supposed the estimate of how long the quirk was going to last wasn't going to be _exact_. But he was tired of this already, goddammit!

He was tired of Hitomi treating him like he was the love of her life. He was tired of her wanting to kiss him, or hug him, or hold his hand. He was tired of the fact Hitomi was showing him so much affection, and he couldn't do _anything_ in return.

He couldn't tell her he loved her back, couldn't let her kiss him, _nothing_.

Because it wasn't fucking _real._

_None of it _was real.

This whole thing sucked.

Dangling what he wished for with her right in front of him, showing him what that would be like, only to know it was all _fake_, sucked ass.

He was fucking done with this bullshit.

Bakugou scowled, kicking a stray pebble that was by his feet.

After lunch (which was when it had finally been two full days since Hitomi got hit with the quirk, mind you), they had their heroics class, like always. This time, it was a free-for-all, survival game out in Ground Omega. The goal was to not get caught until the end of the period, and essentially, "survive". Normally, Bakugou would have gone out to capture some people and eradicate the competition, but he was in too much of a _shitty_ mood to do anything right now. His mood would hinder his performance and focus.

So he was just sitting here, waiting for the exercise to end. There were some distant booms and crashes he heard in the forest, meaning some people had probably encountered each other and gotten into a fight.

Bakugou tched, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. He'd been sitting on this rock for the past half hour.

_Just 10 more minutes…_

His ears perked up at the sound of leaves rustling, disrupting the quietness he'd gotten comfortable with. Bakugou shot up from the rock, now on high alert as he eyed his surroundings cautiously.

He flexed his hands, getting rid of any tension in his fingers to prepare himself for a possible fight. He turned to a bush that started rustling, eyes narrowed and hands up in a defensive stance as he stepped back.

"Found youuu!"

Bakugou was taken by surprise as Hitomi emerged from the bush, tackling him. Bakugou spluttered, feeling Hitomi had pinned him down to the ground by sitting on top of him.

"M-Moon Face!" he exclaimed, feeling his ears had turned red. "Get offa me!"

Man, he must have been in a _really_ shitty mood if he couldn't even react fast enough to _dodge_ her.

Hitomi smiled, placing her hands on Bakugou's chest. "I've been looking all over for you, Bakugou!"

Bakugou could feel his face was red all the way down to his neck now. "W-What?!" he stuttered, grabbing her wrists. "_Why?!_ We're training!"

Hitomi pouted, leaning down slightly. "I haven't been able to kiss you at all!" she whined.

_Brain. Short-circuiting._

"I already said I'm not kissing you!"

Hitomi only leaned closer, more blood rushing to Bakugou's face as he found himself unable to keep from staring at her lips.

He felt frozen as Hitomi leaned down, her lips pursed with the intent to kiss him.

No cheek kiss this time.

Bakugou finally snapped out of it, leaning his head back as far as he could against the ground, letting go of Hitomi's wrists to push her face away.

"_No!"_ Bakugou screamed. "I'm not gonna let you ruin your first kiss!"

Some force fields appeared by his hands, pushing them away from Hitomi's face. Hitomi removed her hands from his chest, grabbing his cheeks to make him look at her instead.

_Fuck!_

Hitomi dove in, too fast this time that Bakugou couldn't stop her.

It all happened in a flash.

Bakugou closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable before there was suddenly an explosion, a pink cloud of smoke encasing the two of them.

Bakugou felt Hitomi's weight fall on top of him, feeling her hands let go of his face. Immediately he turned his head to the side, feeling Hitomi's head hit his cheek.

His vision was filled with _pink_, unable to see anything as the familiar odd smell of chocolate and strawberries filled his nose.

Once the smoke had finally cleared, Bakugou blinked rapidly, staring up at the clear blue sky in shock. He heard Hitomi groan against his throat.

"Ugh…"

Bakugou tensed, grabbing Hitomi's arms in fear of what might happen next.

Hitomi lifted her head up from his neck slowly, a grimace on her face. "What in the…" She opened her eyes, staring directly into Bakugou's.

Bakugou gulped, his grip tightening on her arms.

Hitomi's face suddenly flushed, her eyes wide as she sat up abruptly. "_HUH?!"_

She brought her hands up to her face, glancing around, looking utterly confused. "What the- Where- How-" She glanced down, her blush worsening as she realized she was sitting right on top of Bakugou's torso.

Hitomi practically launched herself into the air like a rocket. She shot up from Bakugou's stomach, stumbling back before falling clumsily back down onto the ground.

"_WHAT THE HELL?!"_ she screamed. She started waving her arms around, her face as red as roses as her eyes darted everywhere but at the boy she had been sitting on top of. "How did I- Where am I- What's-

WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

Bakugou sat up, Hitomi still stuttering across from him as he stared at the ground blankly.

_Fuck._

He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he cradled his face in his hand. His heart was still beating fast, like he'd just had an adrenaline rush, while his cheeks felt like they were practically on fire.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

"Where am I?" he heard Hitomi ask worriedly.

_Fuck._

"What's going on…?"

_**FUCK.**_

"B… Bakugou…?"

"_FUCK!"_

Bakugou shot up from the ground, running past Hitomi and bashing his head into the nearest tree as hard as he could. He beat his head against the trunk repeatedly, his face flushed all the way down to his neck.

"_MOTHERFUCKER, SON OF A BITCH, GODDAMN FUCKING __**FUCK!**_"

Hitomi stared at him in shock as he continued to bash his head against the tree, raising a hand in concern.

"Ba-"

She was cut off as a horn suddenly sounded, echoing through the air and causing some birds to fly by overhead. Hitomi glanced at the sky confused, before she heard Bakugou growl, seeing he was making his way over.

She tried to ask what was going on again, before she noticed _red_ dripping down Bakugou's face. "Bakugou, you're bleeding-!"

Bakugou suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her up from the ground quickly and pulling her through the trees. Hitomi stumbled to keep up with him, unable to pull her arm away because of his vice-like grip.

Hitomi didn't ask anything as Bakugou pulled her through the forest, still _utterly_ confused on what was going on, not to mention she was a little concerned over Bakugou's weird behavior. He was grumbling and cursing to himself all the while as he pulled her along, dismissing the blood dripping down his face as he and Hitomi finally made it out of the forest, where the class was regrouping.

All Might looked curious as they approached, his eyebrows raising slightly. "Young Bakugou," he started cautiously. "Did Young Kanetsukabe cause you trouble…?"

Bakugou finally let go of Hitomi's wrist, scowling as Hitomi pointed at herself confused.

"Trouble…?" she repeated, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. "What's going on, exactly?"

"I'm going to the nurse's office," Bakugou stated, his voice flat.

No one stopped him as he turned to leave, walking off on his own to return to the main building.

Hitomi stared at his back as he left, the furrow in her eyebrows worsening.

Bakugou was mad.

And for some reason, it felt like _she_ was the reason why.

But Hitomi couldn't contemplate that just yet.

First, she had to figure out what the _fuck_ she was doing here.

* * *

Bakugou fiddled with the bandage taped to the middle of his forehead, scowling as he walked back to the dorms.

_Of course_ Hitomi wouldn't fucking remember.

Of course she wouldn't remember all the couple-y romantic bullshit she put him through. Of course she wouldn't remember how badly she'd been trying to kiss him. Of course she wouldn't remember all those _damn times she said she loved him_.

Bakugou scoffed, stomping his way up the steps to the front door.

_Fuck this._

This shit was fucking painful.

But at least now, the most infuriating, painful part was over.

Now, he and Hitomi could go back to being friends, like they used to be. They could return to normalcy, and Bakugou wouldn't have to deal with that infuriating _fake love._

Right now, though, he wasn't in the mood to see her.

He couldn't look at her right now, not without remembering all that embarrassing lovey-dovey bullshit. He couldn't look at her without remembering how he kissed her on the cheek. He couldn't look at her without remembering he'd told her _he loved her too._

Because it fucking _hurt._

It hurt to know she wouldn't remember all those things they did.

It hurt to be reminded of all those things, to experience what it'd be like to be with her, only to be slapped in the face by the harsh reality his feelings were unrequited.

He _wished_, oh he fucking _wished_ she remembered everything that happened. And that maybe, just maybe, after everything that happened, it would turn out his feelings just might be reciprocated.

But life didn't always work out the way you wanted it to.

He'd get over it… eventually. After all, he'd had these unrequited feelings for a while now.

But right now, he just needed some space. A break from all this.

…

Bakugou had locked himself in his room for the rest of the day.

After two hours of working on his homework, plus some extra studying, he simply laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and letting his mind drift.

He didn't know how long he laid there, simply losing track of time. It wasn't until there was a soft knock on his door that he finally snapped out of his daze.

Bakugou grumbled to himself as he got off his bed, running a hand through his hair as he walked to his door.

His face was contorted in annoyance as he grabbed the handle, expecting it to be Dunce Face or Pinky wanting to disrupt his brooding.

Right as he opened the door, his voice on the tip of his tongue to scold whoever it was and tell them to leave him alone, he was suddenly staring into silver eyes that always reminded him of the moon.

Bakugou's mouth clamped shut, his grip tightening on the door handle as Hitomi stared at him unsurely.

"Um…" Hitomi rubbed her arm timidly, her gaze moving to the floor. "Can I… come in…?"

He didn't want to see her right now.

But for some reason Bakugou could never say no to her when it really mattered.

He grunted in reply, stepping to the side as a signal she could come in.

Hitomi walked past him into the room briskly, fiddling with her hands as Bakugou closed the door behind her. He hardly looked at her as she fidgeted, brushing past her to plop himself onto his bed. After a few bouts of silence, Hitomi followed after him, sitting only a foot or so away from him on the mattress.

Bakugou was silent as she took a deep breath.

"Uraraka told me what happened."

"So?" Bakugou couldn't help but scoff. "What's done is done. That shit is over already."

Hitomi frowned, Bakugou seeing her begin to fiddle with her shirt out of the corner of his eye.

"I…" Hitomi hesitated, before turning to face him. "...I'm sorry, though, that I acted like that towards you. It must've been annoying."

Bakugou rolled his eyes, leaning back slightly. "Why the hell are you apologizing? It's not even your fault. That all happened because of a fucking _quirk."_

"But still…" Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed. "Even if I was under the influence of a quirk, I still did all those… _embarrassing _things… I'm sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable, or anything. I know romance isn't really your thing."

_If only you knew, Moon Face._

Bakugou sighed, before he held a hand up to Hitomi's face. Hitomi stared at him confused, until he suddenly flicked her forehead lightly. She rubbed her forehead once Bakugou lowered his hand, only more baffled than before.

"What was that for…?"

Bakugou craned his neck to stare up at the ceiling. "Quit worrying about it," he huffed. "It was out of your control."

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed, meaning she was about to apologize again. Before she could, Bakugou continued speaking to get his point across.

"If you're really worried about what you did with me, you didn't do anything that bad."

"But… Uraraka said I tried to kiss you," Hitomi said timidly, beginning to fiddle with some of her hair shyly. "..._Multiple_ times."

Bakugou turned his face away, in an attempt to hide the fact his face just flushed.

"That's nothing I can't handle," he huffed. "That was the worst of it. Everything else you did was just hugging me or doting on me."

Hitomi's face was bright red as she held her cheeks. "I…"

"Don't dwell on it," Bakugou mumbled. "It's not really that different from how you usually are."

"Eh?!" Hitomi spluttered. "What?! I- I'm not…"

"Yes, you are," Bakugou snorted, unable to keep himself from shooting her a smirk. "You're always worrying about everyone over yourself, not to mention you're always touchy-feely with Pikachu, Pinky, and Kirishima, too."

Hitomi began to fidget, her voice small. "That's…"

She sighed, scratching her cheek. "I really _am_ sorry about all this, though. I want to make it up to you, somehow."

"Like I said," Bakugou replied, "don't worry about it."

Hitomi glanced at him, looking in deep thought. The two of them stared at each other for several long moments before she lifted her hand from her lap, slowly bringing it up to his face. Bakugou tried to withhold his blush as Hitomi brushed her fingers against his bangs, pushing them to the side.

Hitomi's eyebrows knit together in concern as she traced her fingers over the bandage taped to his forehead, sighing to herself.

"...So you were bashing your head against the tree because I was embarrassing you," she mumbled.

Bakugou gulped, turning his face away from her as Hitomi lowered her hand. "The old lady healed me already," he scoffed. "The bandage was just a precaution." He fiddled with the bandage, before ripping it off.

Bakugou turned to Hitomi, pushing his bangs back to show her his forehead was recovered and free of any wounds. "See?" he said brusquely. "It's fine. Don't even try feeling guilty about the wound, or I'll kick your ass the next time we train."

Hitomi laughed slightly, her smile embarrassed. "You know me so well," she teased. "I'll try not to, then."

Bakugou let out a small huff, tossing the bandage in the trash can he kept near his bed.

Hitomi suddenly slammed her fist into her palm, a grin on her face. "I've got it! Wait right here, Bakugou, I'll be right back!"

Bakugou watched as she ran out of his room, her long blue hair trailing behind her.

After a few minutes, Hitomi came back, cradling a book against her chest. She plopped back onto the bed, making it bounce slightly. "I don't actually know if you'll enjoy this…" She held the book out to him, giving him a bashful smile. "But if I don't do _something_, I'll still feel bad about this whole thing."

Bakugou raised a brow, grabbing the book from her and skimming over the title.

"You said you like mystery, right?" Hitomi asked. "It's science-fiction, but the plot is about a crime that's trying to be solved. The 'science-y' part is more of a background element." Hitomi laughed, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "You'd probably enjoy it more than me, honestly. I don't normally have the patience for that kind of thing."

Bakugou stared at the cover, unable to form words.

He thought Hitomi wouldn't remember anything from when she was under the effects of Love Spell. He had never told her he liked mystery novels before that…

"I… uh…"

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed. "Or… Wait, were you the one that said you liked mystery? Or was it someone else?" She held her chin, closing her eyes in thought. "Hm…"

"I did tell you that," Bakugou mumbled.

Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief, clapping her hands together. "Oh, good! I was afraid I might've remembered wrong…" She smiled softly at him, some of her hair falling from behind her ear. "I guess I should leave you to it, then."

Right when she was about to get up from the bed, Bakugou suddenly grabbed her arm, surprising her slightly. Hitomi fell silent as Bakugou pulled her in, her eyes widening in surprise as Bakugou's arms wrapped around her, squeezing her arms to her sides. Hitomi's face flushed as her face was smushed into Bakugou's shoulder, her heart beating fast.

"B-Bakugou?!"

Bakugou only held her tighter in reply, one of his hands moving to rest on top of her hair.

"...Thanks," he mumbled.

"Eh?!"

Bakugou clenched his jaw, resting his forehead on her shoulder as he tried to convey all of his feelings about her in this one single hug. If she really remembered what he'd told her about what he liked to read, then maybe…

Maybe she really did remember everything else. Maybe it was all just buried in her subconscious.

Maybe she'd heard him when he told her he loved her too. If he could convey how he felt in this one action…maybe she'd remember.

And maybe this was how he'd finally confess to her.

Hitomi placed her hands on his arms, looking at him in concern. "Wait- Huh?! Bakugou? Are you-"

Bakugou took a deep breath as he pulled away, placing his hands in his lap and staring at them stiffly. "Thanks… for the book."

Hitomi suddenly grabbed his face, making Bakugou's breath hitch as she pulled him in, pushing his bangs back and staring at his forehead in concern. "Are- Are you sure you're okay?!" Hitomi exclaimed, her cheeks still red as she ran her thumb over where the bandage had been. "You- You were hitting that tree pretty hard-"

Bakugou's face flushed, making him pull away from her as he batted her hands away lightly. "I-I'm fine!" he growled. "I'm just trying to show my gratitude, idiot!"

Hitomi held her hands up, staring at him worriedly. "But- I- You- There's no way you'd- that you'd _hug_ me… We should take you back to Recovery Girl..."

Bakugou scowled, looking away. The blush was still fairly noticeable on his face. "I told you I'm fine! And who's to say I wouldn't hug _you_, huh?"

_Please understand what I'm trying to tell you._

"Hug _me…?_" Hitomi said slowly, her lips pursed in a thin line. "But… I didn't take you for the hugging type…"

Bakugou kept his eyes trained to the floor, feeling his ears had turned red now."...Well, maybe it depends on the person," he grumbled.

_Please get it. I can't say it directly._

"I… Well…" Hitomi scratched her cheek, smiling unsurely. "Um…"

_It's staring you in the face right now._

Hitomi laughed sheepishly, her hand moving to rub the back of her neck instead. "...I guess you must see me as a sister or something if you're comfortable enough to do that."

_FUCKING __**WHAT.**_

"WHA-?!" Bakugou was ready to blow up something. "WHAT THE _HELL?!_ FUCK NO!"

"Ah…" Hitomi smiled down at her lap, her hair falling to cover her face. Bakugou couldn't see the sad look that had appeared in her eyes. "A close friend, then…?"

"I- That's not-" Bakugou gritted his teeth, pinching his eyes with his fingers. "...Fuck," he muttered to himself.

He rested his elbow on his knee, covering his face with his hand. "...Yeah," he grumbled. "You're my… _friend…_ or whatever shit you want to call it."

_This was fucking __**embarrassing.**_

His own crush believed he saw her as a fucking _sister._

Hitomi's sad smile beside him went unnoticed, before it disappeared, turning into a teasing smile instead. "Bakugou, is it really that hard for you to admit people are your friends?" she laughed cheekily. "Dummy."

"...You're the dumbass here, dumbass."

"Eh?"

"I don't see you as a fucking _sister_, and I never will. That's Raccoon Eyes' job."

"Ah." Hitomi shrugged as Bakugou sat up straight. "If you say so." She then got up from the bed, stretching her arms out into the air. "Well, I should get going," she hummed. She turned around to face him, giving him a soft smile. "Tell me what you think of the book. And make sure you go back to Recovery Girl, just in case, okay? I just wanna be sure you're really alright."

Bakugou rolled his eyes, flopping back to lay on his bed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Hitomi gave him a small wave as she made her way to the door. "I'll see you later, then!"

Bakugou only grunted in reply, making Hitomi laugh lightly at his typical response as she left the room. As soon as her footsteps receded, Bakugou covered his face with a pillow, groaning into the fabric.

There was one thing Bakugou forgot to account for in his attempt at an impromptu confession.

That Hitomi was absolutely, _ridiculously _dense.

As dense as a fucking _rock._

Anything he tried to imply would fly right over her head. There was no way she was going to get it if he didn't say it outright.

And judging by how _that_ just went, there was no way in _hell_ he was going to try that again anytime soon.

Bakugou grabbed the book Hitomi had given him, pushing the pillow off his face.

Maybe he could find the willpower to try again after a while. When she wasn't as dense.

But right now, he had a new story to read.

* * *

**A/N: A/N: Ta-da~! :D I hope you enjoyed that disgusting special.**

**Damn can't believe Bakugou really dropped the L-bomb like that haha**

**So I decided to give y'all a tease of a confession, only to put you guys through more frustrating mutual pining. They're hopeless idiots, trust me 😛 The combination of "Bakugou is Bad at Feelings" and "Hitomi is as Dense as a Rock" means they'll take _forever_ to get a move on, but I hope my conclusion for them will be satisfying ;)**

**I was really struggling to write the ending because I wasn't happy with it, until one of my friends told me I should have Bakugou give Hitomi a surprise hug 😏 (thanks snow!) So the ending turned out way sweeter than I intended, but I like it! :3**


	5. Happy Birthday, Hitomi (2020 Side Story)

**A/N: ****We are here again to celebrate another year for the blue-haired bean! Happy birthday, Hitomi! 🎉**

**This isn't a different birthday she celebrates, but rather the aftermath of the surprise party she had back in Ch. 26 of the main story. I actually wrote this a little after I wrote the birthday chapter, and it was meant to be the first chapter of the Side Stories, so it's pretty old. Somehow I just never got around to posting it 😅**

**This is unedited, and since I wrote this back when I was still getting the hang of writing, I apologize if the quality isn't the best.**

**Art - Add /01qevfkg09u0 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"You're seriously lucky I finally got my Japanese Driver's License last month."

Kinkata turned off the ignition of his silver CUV, popping open the trunk before stepping out. Hitomi sweatdropped as her older brother stared at the pile of gifts by her feet, having been waiting for him on the street for almost 10 minutes. It was only after everyone had left that Hitomi realized there was no way she'd be able to carry all of her birthday presents home by herself, leading to her calling Kinkata for help.

Along with Nari's help, the two siblings began loading everything into the trunk, having to shove the giant Pikachu plushie into the backseat because it was too large to go with the other presents. Hitomi finally settled into the passenger seat once they'd finished, opening the window as Kinkata started the car.

"You sure you don't need a ride home?" Hitomi asked Nari, who had stayed in front of the boba shop.

The blonde shook her head. "The deal was that I have to work an extra shift today in exchange for using the shop, so I can't go home yet anyway."

"We can wait for you…" Kinkata suggested before Nari waved him off.

"I'm gonna be here until closing, and you can't stay parked on the curb here very long anyway. It's fine, really!"

"Are you sure?" Hitomi asked.

"Yes, I'm sure!"

Hitomi huffed before finally settling back in her seat. "...Alright then. Good night, Nari."

"Night!"

Hitomi saw Nari wave in the side view mirror as the car drove off, watching her figure get smaller and smaller.

"So how was it?" her brother asked as Hitomi finally faced the front.

"The party? It was… really nice, honestly. But now I'm kind of exhausted from talking and laughing so much…"

"Everyone brought you gifts, right? Any odd ones?"

Hitomi shook her head as she stared at the road. "Surprisingly, no. I would've expected to get something gross from Mineta—he's a total pervert—that I'd have to burn, but he just got me some hair clips."

"Mineta… was he the one that stuck himself to the back of that ponytail girl back at the sports festival?"

"Mhmm," Hitomi nodded.

"Ew."

"Yup."

"Well, any gifts you really liked?" Kinkata asked, trying to change the topic. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed his sister's cheeks redden, making him wonder who it was that could have that kind of effect on her.

"Umm, I got these really pretty earrings…"

"Oh?" Kinkata questioned, his curiosity piqued. He was _very_ interested to find out just who gave her these earrings.

"So… you know my hero name, right?"

"Yeah. Blue Moon. One you picked 'cause of what Nari said about your eyes, right?"

Hitomi fiddled with her hair absentmindedly, staring at the road ahead. "He gave me these really pretty earrings that are moon-shaped, _and_ they're blue. I mean- it's probably just a coincidence, but they're really pretty either way… I just really like them."

"'He'? He who?"

"Huh? Oh, Bakugou."

"BAKUGOU?!" Kinkata exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat as to keep his attention on the road instead of turning to Hitomi in shock. "As in, 'the one who was chained to the first-place podium' Bakugou?!"

Hitomi raised a brow. "Uh, yeah…?"

"Wow, that's just- wow. Would _not_ have expected that from someone like him. He must really like you to get something that thoughtful, huh?"

"Like me? It's more like we're… friends, I guess…? I don't think he even likes me very much after I slapped him, though... "

"You slapped him?!" Kinkata exclaimed again.

"Uh, yes. He was being a jerk, so…"

"_Wow._" Kinkata turned a corner, trying to calm down his surprise. "Well… maybe he likes your face and that's why he got you those earrings."

Hitomi blushed at the thought of Bakugou thinking she was pretty, finding that to be something that would never happen in a million years. "Nope. No. That's impossible."

Kinkata chuckled as he slowed down at a stoplight, reaching under the back of his seat to hand Hitomi a wrapped box. "Hm, whether he likes you or hates you, my gift is still the best."

Hitomi stared at it curiously before ripping the wrapping paper off, gasping at what was underneath.

"You… you're not serious, are you..?"

Hitomi stared at the Nintendo Switch sitting in her lap, picking it up to check its weight. _It could be a prank where it's an empty box…_

To her disbelief, though, it didn't feel empty.

Kinkata shrugged as the light turned green, driving forward. "Why wouldn't I be serious? This way we can finally play the latest games together, if you want to. Besides, you haven't been able to play the newest Pokémon game that came out last year 'cause we didn't have a Switch, right?"

"...So this Switch is just for me?"

"Yup."

"I'm gonna be in debt for the next 5 years!" Hitomi shouted, distraught.

"Huh?!"

"I've gotten way too expensive gifts this year! First the tea set, then the earrings and gift card to a designer brand store, then a fancy-ass necklace, and NOW a _Switch_? That's so much money spent on me!"

Kinkata's brow furrowed as his sister continued her freak out before finally chuckling, making her halt.

"What?!"

"Sorry, Hitomi," Kinkata stuttered between laughs. "It's just- Regardless of whether they spent a lot of money on you or not, it's clear your classmates all really care about you."

"That's not…"

"It _is_ true. Don't deny it," he said as he ruffled her hair. "They wouldn't have celebrated with you if they didn't care."

Hitomi huffed, blushing as she leaned further into her seat. "...I suppose."

* * *

**A/N: If you're interested, I actually drew out a special comic for Hitomi's 13th birthday! I wasn't originally planning to, but when I started thinking about it I was compelled to draw it out 😂 You can check it out on my Insta! (hitomi . mimii)**

**Okay, so since we're here I have some IMPORTANT things to say:**

**First of all, I am so so sorry IPP still hasn't come off of hiatus yet. I know I said it would be back by mid-June, but that was a severe overestimation on my part and I apologize.**

**This time around, I plan to draw nearly all the chapters before I start posting them again, so that I can maintain a consistent upload schedule and don't have to stress out over not meeting a deadline on time. This means the art will be better quality, and that I can draw more art per chapter as well. However, this means it also takes a lot more effort and a lot more of my time.**

**I've been drawing nearly every single day, and to be honest, it's felt really tiring lately. I've started to feel burnout, which is what I was afraid of and is hampering my motivation to draw. I will do my best to bring IPP back as soon as I can, and I hope the quality of the art will make up for the long wait.**

**If you want to stay tuned for any updates or other content, follow my Instagram.**

**Thank you for reading and until next time ❤️**


	6. To Save Your Soul (MHAlloween 2020)

**A grim reaper who hesitates to take lives.**

**A boy who's been cursed to live a life of immortality.**

**The two cross paths, coming from completely different worlds. And after the events of one fateful night, their futures become intertwined.**

**—**

**A/N: HEY IT'S YOUR FAVORITE SLEEP-DEPRIVED LOSER WHO'S 2 DAYS LATE WITH THE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL **

**This was originally supposed to be a comic, buuuut I came up with this with only 5 days left before Halloween and I had several long assignments to finish last week along with an essay that was ALSO due on Halloween (college has been kicking my butt, save meeeee 😭). I knew there was no way I'd be able to do a comic in 5 days and stay on top of school, so I made it a fanfic instead, ALTHOUGH I STILL ENDED UP BEING LATE TvT**

**Anyway the only extra notes I have for this one-shot is that this is a fantasy AU (no, not THAT Fantasy AU, sadly 😔) filled with supernatural creatures such as vampires, werewolves, etc. etc., y'know, the typical fantasy stuff. There won't be any specific mentions of such creatures save for one or two, I just brought it up to help establish the kind of world this takes place in. Oh, and Hitomi and Bakugou are ~18 in this AU, since I just think it makes sense for them to be a bit older here :3**

**Side note: I really encourage you to read this one-shot on Wattpad or AO3! I formatted several soundtracks from Toilet Bound Hanako-kun into the story to help set the mood for different scenes, and it can help make the experience feel more spooky to fit the Halloween vibe, not to mention the art is also formatted into the text as well. Either way, whether you decide to read it here or on those sites instead, I hope you enjoy :) **

**Happy reading!**

**Art - Add ****/21f3f49x4js8 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Grim reapers in this world were cruel.

They were beings who brought upon death on the humans that walked this Earth, having the power to choose when and how one died.

They were the cause of widespread plagues, wars, disasters that took away thousands and thousands of these humans' lives.

Some that were especially cruel liked to cause a poor human so much suffering that they'd eventually be driven to take their own life.

Grim reapers took pride in taking human souls away from their hosts' body, having the nerve to act as some kindly deity as they guided the soul to the afterlife, as if they hadn't just stolen that human's precious life away.

And Hitomi… Hitomi hated it.

She hated taking lives.

An abnormal thought for a grim reaper.

But that was just how she felt.

She hated when her peers would laugh at the absurd amount of souls they'd collected from the day, hated listening to them detail which cruel ways they'd taken them. Drowning, decapitation, disease, Hitomi had heard them all. Anything one could think of, it had probably been done before.

And they would torture humans in such ways simply because… they were lesser creatures than reapers. Simply because they were _mortal_. Grim reapers took pleasure in taking their lives away, simply because their lives already had a time limit anyway. They enjoyed watching humans die in such ways because they weren't _supernatural_, because they were much more fragile and an easier target than a typical vampire, or witch.

Hitomi hated it.

She hated being a reaper.

She hated that other reapers expected her to take joy in severing souls from bodies, to laugh at the sadness that overtook a family when they realized a loved one had passed away.

How could they laugh? How could they laugh when humans looked… just like them? After all, grim reapers were born from unclaimed souls who never made it to the afterlife. Was it resentment from their previous life that was unable to fade away after they were reborn? Was it because they now saw themselves as "above", and humans as "lesser"?

Hitomi didn't know.

All Hitomi _did_ know was that she felt… what was the word… sympathy? For these humans. They were just living their lives, blissfully ignorant to the knowledge their lives were at the mercy of a simple slash of Hitomi's scythe.

Hitomi didn't want to take their lives away.

She couldn't remember her own previous life as a human, just like other reapers, but she loved watching humans. She loved watching them dance, cook, learn, struggle, and grow, just be human. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't hidden her scythe and disguised herself as human to walk among them a few times. Maybe that was why she cared about them so much.

She definitely wasn't the only one who thought this way. She'd come across other reapers who'd shared her mindset every now and then, but she could tell they were the minority. After all, reapers who didn't love taking lives were simply absurd.

Well, Hitomi didn't care if that way of thinking was absurd. That was how she felt. She hated cutting a life that still had so much time left short. That was why the only souls she ever took were those of the old, those who had lived their lives to the fullest and were ready to move on. When she severed the tendril of the soul that was connected to their heart, they often acted like they were expecting her, taking her hand resolutely. Sometimes they even told her about their life as she guided them across the Bridge to the afterlife.

Personally, she found much more gratification in the stories they told her rather than trying to come up with some gruesome death to brag about.

Hitomi knew, however, that she was on thin ice. Even though she did her best to only sever souls of the elderly, she still hated that she had to do it at all.

But she had to do it.

She had to take lives because that was a grim reaper's job.

A grim reaper that didn't do their job… well… she didn't know what happened to them. All they were ever told was that when grim reapers didn't do their jobs, they messed up the balance between life and death, and when that happened, those who had altered that delicate balance were "taken care of", whatever that meant. It definitely couldn't be a good thing.

Hitomi never wanted to find out.

So she did the bare minimum. If you didn't want to be "taken care of", you had to actively be working to claim souls (such as casting disease over a prolonged period of time, for example) or severing souls from hearts directly.

Hitomi had always stuck to the latter, bringing back the absolute _barest_ minimum of elderly souls every day that would keep her from tampering with the balance. It was risky, yes, and it sometimes put herself on close watch by the higher ups because she never brought back as many souls as other reapers, but they could never fault her because she was still, technically, doing her job, just not at the same frequency.

Hitomi sighed, blowing her hair out of her face.

Sometimes she wondered why her soul had never been claimed.

Had she lived a peaceful life as a human? Lived with a family, maybe had her _own_, had a lover? Or did she die young?

Had she been a kind person in her past life? Or had she been cruel, evil, caused other humans pain and suffering?

If it had been the latter… maybe she deserved to become this and hate it. If she had been horrible to fellow humans in her past life, maybe this was her chance to provide them mercy and let them live on peacefully in this life.

Or maybe she hadn't been awful, and whichever reaper had come across her soul had thought it would be amusing to resign her to this duty.

Or maybe her soul had just genuinely never been found.

Hitomi flinched when something whacked the top of her head, hissing to herself as her grip instinctively tightened on her scythe.

"Hey!"

She looked to her left, rubbing her head as her eyes narrowed at the glowing ball of blue light beside her. "What was that for?"

The will-o-wisp only stared back at her, its flame tendril flowing behind it as it floated beside her. Hitomi squinted at the fire elemental before it made a small titter, flying towards Hitomi's face to give her cheek a nuzzle and making the bluenette yelp.

"Nari-! Nari, stop that, I'm gonna fall!"

The will-o-wisp flew back, giving Hitomi the chance to readjust herself on top of her scythe. She'd been flying through the sky on her weapon, watching as the last remnants of twilight turned into night. Hitomi took a deep breath once she was safely secure on the pole, before shooting her companion a glare.

"Why did you do that? I could've fallen!"

Nari tilted to the side, giving her a questioning look.

"Yeah, yeah, I know it's not like I could actually die from falling or anything— maybe just a sore butt— but it's… it's about the principle!" Hitomi spluttered.

Another questioning gaze.

Hitomi sighed. "Look, Nari, just… don't do that while I'm flying, okay? I may not break a limb or whatever, but… I can't lose track of my scythe, alright? We don't want another being getting their hands on it, and… well, if I fell, what if I crashed into a human?"

Nari's flame faltered slightly, as if the will-o-wisp was looking apologetic.

Hitomi wore a small smile, tickling the ball of fire with her fingertips. "Yeah… I know that wasn't your intent. You don't have to say sorry." She placed her hand back on her scythe, staring at the forest that was a distance away. "If anything, _I_ should be saying sorry, for being so distracted…" Her grip tightened on the black metal. "It's just… I… I'm starting to get tired of this, y'know? After doing it for years and years… Even though I only try to take the elderly, there are still… there are _always_ people that are sad to see them go. I just… I hate seeing their faces when they realize their loved ones are gone…"

Hitomi hissed, covering her eyes with her hands. "I hate _being_ this! I hate that this is my job…! Why did my soul have to be left unclaimed? Why didn't I get to move on to the afterlife?!"

She glanced at Nari, the will-o-wisp's big black eyes staring back at her.

Hitomi let out another sigh, wrapping herself up in her cloak. "Y'know, they've started to notice I've been bringing in less and less souls lately. I'm guessing that they're going to have someone monitor me sometime soon." Hitomi bit her lip, her fingers tightening around the dark blue fabric. "Why do they care so much how many we bring, or how we do it? Isn't the fact that we're bringing those souls to the afterlife enough? So what if I go into human shops, or make conversation with them, or… or eat human food every now and then?"

Nari let out a small squeak in response.

Hitomi hummed, giving her a timid smile. "Well, you wouldn't know, would you? You're just a fire elemental after all, you don't know what it's like up there."

She gave the will-o-wisp a small pat, appreciating the warmth that engulfed her palm.

"You see, Nari, they don't like us interacting with humans directly, or getting close to them, because… well, we already lived our lives as humans. I… I know it's wrong, but… I just can't help it." Hitomi looked up at the sky, admiring the stars that twinkled against the black abyss.

"It's just… the humans live in such a beautiful world, y'know? They're always advancing, growing, learning new things. They create so many cool inventions, they discover things about this world they live in, and they just… have fun. Is it so bad that I… want to be a part of that? Even though I've already lived that life? It's not like I can remember anything from it, so… is it wrong of me to want to see it all all over again…?"

Nari sailed over to her, settling herself right on the end of Hitomi's scythe and staring up at her. Hitomi looked down at her, her mouth in a small frown.

"It's really selfish of me, huh…? I hate taking souls, and I don't have to keep doing it… I could just stop and accept whatever punishment they give to grim reapers who 'tip the balance'... But I keep taking souls anyway because I'm scared that I won't be able to watch the humans anymore if I don't."

Nari floated up so she was eye level with her, before nuzzling herself into Hitomi's face. The bluenette spluttered, scrambling to pull the ball of fire off. She held Nari in her hands, staring down at her sternly. "Nari…!"

The blue flame let out another titter, circling around the reaper playfully. Hitomi sputtered, trying to scold her and be stern, but it was in vain. Her weak composure quickly broke, and she broke out into giggles as Nari floated in front of her.

"Man, you really have no worries at all, huh?" Hitomi laughed, scratching her cheek. She held her hands out, letting her friend settle into her palms and giving Nari a small smile. "Must be nice to be you. Sorry about… dumping all my thoughts and feelings on you like that. Not like you really understand what I'm talking about, anyway." Hitomi let out another quiet laugh. "Let's get going. We haven't left this field for a while now." Nari floated out of her hands as Hitomi faced forward, squinting to see what was up ahead.

"That forest looks like it goes for a while…" Hitomi mumbled, taking note of the large expanse of trees. "You think there'll be any elderly souls that are ready to move on to the afterlife?"

The bluenette looked to her companion, only to get a questioning hum in response.

"...Yeah, me neither. How many souls do we have so far?"

Hitomi turned around, swinging her legs around the scythe's shaft so she was now sitting facing the blade. She scooted towards it, Nari's light illuminating the back part, a black crescent-shaped piece of metal with a cerulean orb in the middle. The back of Hitomi's scythe matched the clasp of her cloak: a black moon wrapped around a cerulean circle.

Hitomi tapped the blue orb, the sphere glowing at her touch. The glow grew, turning into a solid ball about the size of Hitomi's hand. Hitomi looked into it for a few moments, before she sighed, slumping over. "...Shit. Only 10…?" She pushed the ball back into the orb, the glow fading as she turned back around to face the front. "I need about 15 more before I go back, at least."

Nari looked up at her curiously, Hitomi's troubled expression lit by her flame.

"...We better get those souls by the end of the week. I've already been down here for almost a month, and if we stay any longer than that it'll _definitely_ look suspicious." Hitomi gave Nari a small scratch, before she took a deep breath, gripping the handle of her scythe firmly. "Let's go. If we don't stop anymore, maybe we can get past that forest and find a village before morning."

The will-o-wisp nodded enthusiastically, before settling on Hitomi's shoulder. Hitomi laughed at the action, before she pushed forward, sailing through the sky towards the many trees that lay ahead.

…

The trip had been uneventful for a while.

The forest turned out to be much more expansive than Hitomi had initially thought, as she had been flying over it long enough that Nari had gotten sleepy, the fire elemental now resting comfortably in the hood of Hitomi's cloak.

Hitomi, meanwhile, was humming a song to pass the time, a small tune she'd heard during a festival from the last village she'd visited. Her voice was the only sound she heard for miles, filling the overwhelming silence of nighttime as she sailed through the air. The sky was still a dark black, the stars dotting it white as Hitomi admired the view, her voice soft as it continued to hum that simple tune.

"Orion's Belt, huh…?" she mumbled, staring at the trio of stars that formed a straight line. Humans called them "constellations", groups of stars that supposedly formed patterns you could see no matter where you were in the world. You couldn't see them from the Astral Plane, only on Earth. Hitomi held a hand up, tracing her finger over the imaginary line formed by the stars of the Orion constellation. "Wonder where the name came from…"

Hitomi blinked when she heard a faint whistle, lowering her hand and looking over her shoulder. "Nari?" The will-o-wisp let out a small murmur, opening her eyes drowsily. "Was that noise you?"

Hitomi's question was quickly answered when an orange ball of fire whizzed past her, her hair getting blown around by the following wind. Hitomi flinched back, tensing at the thick smell of smoke the fireball had left behind. "What was-?!"

She looked down at the trees below her, seeing a faint purple glow before her eyes widened.

"Oh, _crap!_"

The purple glow went shooting towards her, Hitomi grasping her scythe's pole firmly as she swerved out of the way. She heard Nari squeal, the fire elemental now awake after getting jostled around from Hitomi's rushed movements.

"Nari-!" Hitomi dodged another attack, this time a flash of lightning. "Nari, your flame! It's exposing us!" Another swerve out of the way, from what she was guessing was a freezing spell. "There's a witch here! She's attacking us…!"

Nari squeaked, burrowing herself into Hitomi's hood as her flame slowly dimmed. Hitomi yelped as another attack came flying towards her, this time a barrage of energy beams. She dove downwards to avoid them, her hair and cloak whipping behind her as she gained speed, trying to get out of the witch's range.

She continued to avoid the witch's attacks, berating herself internally as she swerved left and right, narrowly avoiding the spells and hexes that came her way.

_Of course there'd be other supernaturals here! This forest is _huge!

Large vines came shooting towards her, Hitomi hastily pulling up, out of their reach. They only followed after her, continuing to grow until Hitomi felt one wrap around her ankle.

_I was being careless!_

She yelped, flipping herself off her scythe before she spun it around, slashing through the vine and setting her foot free. The other vines came barreling towards her, Hitomi making several more harsh slashes against them. The death she willed through her blade spread throughout the plants, following down the stems and leaves before reaching the roots. The vines went limp as Hitomi jumped back onto her scythe, watching as they fell back to the ground lifelessly. She heard a scream echo through the trees, likely belonging to the witch who was trying to get her hands on her scythe before another barrage of attacks ensued, energy beams shooting towards her left and right.

Hitomi flew forward, trying her best to avoid them as she tried putting some distance between herself and the witch. She could feel Nari jostle around in her hood as she zigzagged all over the place, yelping when a purple beam shot through some of her hair, cutting off a few stray blue strands.

_Dammit!_

There was no way these attacks were going to stop anytime soon. Hitomi knew that witch wouldn't stop until she brought Hitomi down, because it was a well-known fact a grim reaper's scythe was one of the most sought-after treasures among mortal beings.

Taking lives was one thing. You didn't have to be a grim reaper to kill someone, or something. Mortals killed each other all the time; grim reapers were simply the little whisper in their ears that gave them the push to do so.

But if you got your hands on a grim reaper's scythe?

You had the power to sever souls _directly_. You had the ability to take souls as your own instead of letting them go to the afterlife.

And if mortals got their hands on actual souls, well, that just meant trouble.

Because the more souls you had, the more power it gave you.

That was another reason grim reapers took so many souls, besides the fact they simply took pleasure in the act. The more souls you took from hearts, the more power you earned. The higher you went up the Thirteen Levels.

Some souls were worth more than others, of course, which in turn granted you varying levels of power. Humans were worth more than animals, and supernaturals were worth more than humans. The worth among specific supernatural creatures varied as well.

Hitomi only took enough that would give her enough power to fend off such supernatural creatures, but for Christ's sake, this witch wouldn't lay off!

Damn wands and magic brooms!

"Nari, hold on tight!" Hitomi ordered as she dodged another fireball. "We can't shake her. I'm going to have to stop this myself."

Nari made a squeak of agreement, before she flew out of Hitomi's hood, diving into the blue gem on the clasp of Hitomi's cloak. It was a pocket dimension usually reserved for Hitomi's scythe when trying to hide it, but in a situation like this that was the safest place for her little will-o-wisp.

With Nari safely tucked away, Hitomi looked over her shoulder, seeing the witch was still tailing her a distance away on her broom, another bolt of lightning forming at the tip of her wand. She gritted her teeth, pulling up higher into the sky. The witch couldn't keep up, as enchanted broomsticks couldn't reach the same altitude or speed of a scythe.

Hitomi couldn't help the small smile on her face as she put more distance between the two, which was bound to affect the witch's accuracy. She heard the crackle of thunder, and just as she'd planned, the witch's lightning bolt missed, shooting up into the sky and disappearing into the darkness.

Once Hitomi felt she was at a safe enough height, she slowed down and turned around to face the witch, her eyes narrowing as she saw the faint glow of another attack forming. Her grip tightened around her scythe, before the witch's attack shot out to the side, making her pause.

_What was that supposed to be?_

Hitomi shook her head, trying to ignore the odd action.

_Never mind that! I need to end this, now!_

Hitomi slid off her scythe, trying her best to maintain her float against the pull of gravity as she saw the witch gear up another spell. Right as the witch raised her wand, Hitomi shot forward, her scythe positioned with an attack of her own. Before the witch could launch her hex, Hitomi swung her scythe with a determined yell, a large cerulean wave of concentrated energy shooting towards the supernatural being. It hit the witch dead on, blowing her back in the direction Hitomi had initially come from. Hitomi watched as her figure grew smaller, her adrenaline slowly beginning to settle as the witch's screams grew distant.

She settled onto her scythe, her rushed breaths slowing down as the blue light from her attack slowly faded, becoming a small dot before eventually disappearing into the trees completely. Hitomi sighed once it was gone, turning around to face forward. "Phew. Well, looks like she won't be coming back anytime soon…" Hitomi began to fly forward, albeit cautiously, as she touched her cloak clasp. "Nari, you can come out no-"

She was cut off when was hit with a sudden blast of fire, making her crash into the forest. Hitomi yelped as she gripped her scythe for dear life, destroying twigs and branches as she tried to regain control of her direction. Her cloak almost got snagged several times as she tried her best to avoid the trees and minimize damage, the fact she was unable to see without Nari's light or the stars only making the task more difficult.

Hitomi screeched when she finally made it out into what she assumed was a clearing or pathway, only to crash into something else and send her tumbling off her scythe.

"_AGH!"_

She fell face-first onto something, crashing into the ground as she heard the metallic _clang_ of her scythe falling into the dirt. Immediately she sat up, feeling around for her weapon blindly.

Never mind that painful fireball she'd just been assaulted with— she assumed that was the odd attack the witch had casted before Hitomi had sent her flying— she couldn't lose track of her scythe no matter what. She'd just fought a supernatural for god's sake over it, that fight being only one of many. No, that wasn't it, that was a… rock? An oddly soft one but- Nevermind that…! She didn't want to know what would happen if the higher ups found out she lost a grim reaper's most valuable possession so- ahah! Metal pole, here it is!

Hitomi hastily wrapped her fingers around it, pulling it up from the ground and resting it against her shoulder as she sighed in relief.

_Thank goodness…_

She paused when she heard a low groan, the voice sounding deep and gravelly.

"Ugh… what the hell…"

Hitomi stared straight ahead, the understanding of what had just happened not yet setting in. She was unable to see anything, her eyes not having adjusted to the sparse light provided by the stars. Before she could stop herself to even think about it, her mouth was already moving.

"Nari…! Nari, you can come out now! I need light!"

The little will-o-wisp shot out of Hitomi's gem, circling around her a few times before floating comfortably above her. Nari's dim glow slowly grew back into a bright blue flame, illuminating what exactly Hitomi had just crashed into.

She was face-to-face with a young man, his mouth in a scowl as he rubbed the side of his head with his fingers running through blonde, spiky locks. He let out a growl before his hand settled onto the ground, his eyes opening to reveal bright red irises.

Hitomi watched silently as his eyes trailed up for a moment before he finally took notice of her, his head snapping up in surprise.

The two of them stared at each other, silver eyes boring into red ones before Hitomi was finally able to form a coherent thought.

_He's… a human…!_

She blinked, looking down at his chest to get a peek at his soul. The sight made her freeze.

_No… wait…_

All mortal beings had a soul and a heart, the two connected by a single tendril. That simple, little tendril's connection was what determined whether a person was alive or dead.

But _this…_ what she was looking at…

Looked like a soul… _fused_ to a heart.

This man's soul and heart… seemed to be one and the same. No tendril to connect the two… but a soul… that seemed to take the shape of a heart.

And when there was no tendril to cut away, like grim reapers, who had only souls, it only meant one thing.

"You…" Hitomi said slowly, her eyes trailing back up to his face.

"You're immortal…!"

She saw the man tense, his eyes narrowing. Before Hitomi could react, his hand went to his waist, a quiet _shing_ sounding before she was suddenly pinned to the ground. Hitomi heard Nari squeak as she suddenly found the man sitting on top of her, pushing the wrist of her hand holding her scythe down to the soil while his knee was pressing down on her other arm. A knife was held to her neck, the man's face in a harsh glare.

"That's right, reaper," he growled, the blade hovering close to her skin. "So save yourself some time and don't even _think_ about trying anything." His grip tightened around her wrist, making Hitomi grimace as her fingers inadvertently loosened from around her scythe.

Nari let out another squeak, circling around the man angrily and hitting the back of his head.

"Hey-!" The man looked away from Hitomi, trying to bat the will-o-wisp away. "Back off, you little shit!"

Nari's response was flying straight into his face, making him yelp as his knife drew away from Hitomi's neck. His hand flew up to instead try prying the elemental spirit off of him, his voice muffled.

"Get the fuck off, what the hell!"

Hitomi squirmed underneath him, cursing under her breath as she realized his other hand was still pinning her wrist to the ground, her grip now slack.

"You… Human!" Hitomi griped, writhing underneath him. "Leave her alone!"

The man ignored her, finally pulling Nari off his face and glaring down at the spirit. His hand squeezed the will-o-wisp tightly so she couldn't attack him, making Nari squeal.

"Hey…!" Hitomi's legs wriggled underneath him, trying to push him off. "Let her go! Get off of me!"

"Fat chance!" the man snapped, finally looking back at her. "Like hell I'm letting you even _attempt_ to take my soul! It's not gonna work, so you can fuck right off!"

"_I wasn't going to take your soul!"_

She felt the man's grip on her wrist tense, finally ceasing her squirming.

"...What?"

Hitomi stared up at him, seeing his eyes still narrowed but looking somewhat dumbfounded.

"I don't want to take your life away," she said slowly, looking to the side hesitantly. "...I hate taking lives."

The man scoffed. "A grim reaper that doesn't like death? Give me a break. Drop the shitty act."

"It's the truth!" Hitomi protested, glaring at him. "You don't have to believe me— I don't really care— but let Nari go!"

"Nari?" he asked, before he saw she was looking at the fire spirit he held in his hand. It was a simple creature, the only noticeable feature other than its eyes being what looked like a stitch running down the bottom of its body. He looked back at Hitomi, his eyes filled with suspicion. "You think I'm a fucking idiot or something? As soon as I let her go, she'll attack me again and you'll use her distraction to jump at the chance to kill me. Nice try."

Hitomi scowled, beginning to lose her patience. "I already said I wasn't planning to take your soul! Let her go, now!"

Nari wiggled in his hand, the man staring at the creature in contemplation. "And why the fuck should I trust you?"

"If I really wanted your soul, I would have tried to take it already…!" Hitomi huffed. "I wouldn't have just stared at you earlier! That knife of yours would barely even scratch me, or make shallow cuts at best."

The male fell silent, Hitomi practically seeing the gears turning in his head as he observed her. After a few moments of deliberation, he grunted, loosening his hand from around Nari's flame body. The will-o-wisp flew off his palm immediately, floating to his other hand that clutched Hitomi's wrist. Nari pushed against his hand in a futile attempt to move it away, the little sounds she was making Hitomi would've considered adorable if she hadn't been in this sort of predicament.

"Oi, knock it off you little poltergeist!" the boy growled, loosening his grip from around Hitomi's wrist. "I was already gonna let your owner go, so calm down!"

Hitomi wrinkled her nose, her brows furrowing as he leaned back.

"For your information, I don't own her. She's my friend, not a pet."

The blonde rolled his eyes in response and got off of Hitomi in a huff, grumbling to himself as he stood up. Hitomi sighed in relief as her fingers closed around her scythe, sitting up. Nari flew towards her, rubbing against Hitomi's cheek and making the bluenette laugh.

"Hey, hey! I'm fine!" Hitomi cradled the fire spirit in her hand, smiling softly at the creature. "No need for you to worry. A little knife isn't gonna hurt me."

She heard the blonde man scoff, looking up at him and raising a brow.

"What?" Hitomi mumbled, finally getting up from the ground, Nari hovering by her side. "You have something you want to say?"

"I'd just think twice about that if I were you," he grumbled, crossing his arms. "You damn reapers, think you're so indestructible just because you can't die. It pisses me off."

Hitomi tilted her head to the side, staring at him. "Well, neither can you. You're immortal too."

There was a feral growl, the man's red eyes flashing before he grabbed Hitomi by the collar. Nari let out another squeak as Hitomi flinched, surprised by his sudden change in demeanor.

Earlier he was just being cautious— now he seemed genuinely _angry._

"Well, unlike _you_, reaper, I still have a heart," he snarled, teeth bared. "I still have a _mortal, human body,_ that feels pain just like any other human. You reapers wouldn't know what that feels like, huh? Since the only thing you have is a _soul?_"

His grip tightened around the fabric, his voice getting louder and sounding angrier with each word.

"You grim reapers play with people's lives like they're _nothing._ You don't know what it's like to feel _real, agonizing_ pain, to know your life could be taken away at any given moment! It doesn't mean _shit_ that I'm immortal. I still get hurt— I could get torn apart only to get put back together over and over again.

You don't know what it's really like to suffer, because at the end of the day, you're the ones pulling the _goddamn fucking strings!_ You reapers, all supernatural creatures, really, toy with humans like it's a fucking _game_. A witch messed with my soul, _cursed me_, and now I suffer pain that makes me _wish_ I was fucking dead! Do you monsters get some sick kick out of torturing us? Because we have no freakish abilities like you? Because you think we're _inferior?!_"

He breathed heavily, his eyes bright with fury. Hitomi stared at him in shock, speechless.

How… was she supposed to respond to him?

There was nothing she could say to argue against him, because… he wasn't _wrong._

Grim reapers _were_ the ones pulling all the strings. Grim reapers _did _enjoy torturing human lives, and they _did_ think humans were genuinely inferior.

While humans were just trying to survive in this world, all grim reapers did was watch from above and add to that torment.

Hitomi lifted her free hand slowly, wrapping her fingers around the blonde's wrist. He flinched, Hitomi feeling him tense up as she looked away.

"You… you're right," she mumbled, her gaze falling to the ground. "I… I don't know what it's like to suffer. I'm from a completely different world. I don't feel pain like you do, and I don't live in fear of dying. I'm not human anymore."

His grip loosened, the furrow in his eyebrows faltering slightly.

"But… I used to be, at one point. Human." Hitomi frowned, feeling Nari rest on top of her shoulder. "And if I'm being honest with you, I wish I still was one. I hate being this. I hate being in control of mortal's lives, and I hate seeing the aftermath of taking people's loved ones away."

The blonde scoffed, letting go of her collar and pushing her away. "You trying to get me to feel sorry for you? Spout as much bullshit as you want, but I know at the end of the day the only thing you reapers care about is how many people you kill."

Hitomi winced, readjusting her cloak. Nari hovered by her head. "...You're right. When it comes down to it, I'm still taking people's souls in the end. Believe me, if I had the choice not to, I wouldn't. But… I have to. It's my _job_. As much as I hate being what I am, if I don't do what I'm supposed to… if grim reapers refuse to do their jobs, we disturb the balance between life and death. And… _something_ happens to us. We get… 'taken care of'..."

The human stared at her indignantly, an air of caution still around him. Hitomi blinked, realizing what she'd just shared. She hissed, slapping her forehead.

"Shit! What am I doing, telling a human like you all of this?!" She gritted her teeth, chastising herself internally.

Bad Hitomi. _Bad._ It was bad enough she had crashed into a human, and revealed herself as a grim reaper to someone she wasn't planning on killing anytime soon. Now she'd gone and spilled information that was _definitely_ never supposed to be heard by mortal beings!

Hitomi took a deep breath, facing the boy and straightening her shoulders in an attempt to convey authority. "Human, listen-"

"I have a name, reaper."

Hitomi's eyebrow twitched, the girl frowning. "Yeah, well so do I. But it's not like either of us bothered to mention them while you held me at knifepoint or yelled at me— that's not important right now. What _is_ important, human-"

"Bakugou."

Hitomi paused, her eyebrows raising into her bangs. "What?"

"My _name_," the human griped, "is _Bakugou_. Katsuki Bakugou. Stop fucking calling me 'human'. That makes me feel like a dog or some shit."

Hitomi sighed, pushing some of her hair back behind her ear. "Okay… _Bakugou_. If this is what we're doing right now, my name is Hitomi. So now you have no excuse to call me 'reaper' since you know my name. Now, before you interrupted me, I was going to-"

She was cut off when Bakugou suddenly shoved her aside, making her yelp as she fell into the nearby bushes, Bakugou diving in after her. Hitomi heard the crackle of thunder as they tumbled into the grass, seeing a flash of light enter her vision. The smell of smoke filled the air as she rolled over so she was on her hands and knees, hearing Bakugou let out a small string of swears. Nari hastily flew over to the two of them, hovering over their heads as Hitomi grabbed a hold of her scythe. Hitomi looked to where she and Bakugou had been standing just a few moments ago through the tree trunks, seeing a dark singe mark on the ground.

_Don't tell me…_

She heard a loud cackle from above, recognizing the voice.

_Oh, hell._

Bakugou growled, standing up from the ground and swinging his bag off his shoulder. "Fucking _witch._"

Hitomi let out a cry of frustration, getting up as well. "Goddammit! Stupid teleportation spells!"

Bakugou looked at her questioningly as he dropped his bag onto the ground and reached for his belt, pulling out the knife he'd held against Hitomi's throat earlier. "You know this bastard?"

"I was literally fending this witch off and actually got rid of her, before one of her fireballs sent me crashing into you," Hitomi grumbled. "Nari, stay here with Bakugou. I'm going to send her flying… _again._"

The blonde scoffed, pushing up his sleeves. "Hah? You think you can tell me what to do? Like hell I'm staying here."

Hitomi eyed the knife in his hand, raising a brow. "Uh, I think it's best if you do. I hate to break it to you, but a measly knife isn't going to do much against…"

She trailed off when the engraving on the knife's blade glowed orange, the glow engulfing the small blade in fire. The flames twisted and morphed, growing in size before taking a solid shape, the small knife now a large sword.

Bakugou wore a small smirk, letting out an arrogant laugh at Hitomi's dumbfounded expression. "I told you to think twice. Still think this measly, enchanted sacred weapon won't do much, Moon Face?"

Hitomi bit her lip, shaking her head to try to hide the blush that came from the embarrassment of being _so, _utterly _wrong._ "I can handle her by myself. And I already told you my name! Where'd 'Moon Face' come from?!"

"From those dull gray eyes of yours and the crescent on your clasp, Moon Face," the blonde huffed. "And I don't give two shits about whether you can take her or not. I just want to see if there's any links between her and the bitch who cursed me."

Hitomi gave him a sympathetic look, brushing aside the offense she felt at the comment about her eyes. She floated up into the air slightly, sighing.

"Alright. Just try to stay away from my attacks. I don't want to accidentally hurt you, even if you're immortal."

Bakugou grunted in response, readjusting the grip on his sword's handle.

Hitomi looked over her shoulder at Nari, giving the elemental spirit a quick pat. "Nari, stay here, alright? Watch over Bakugou's stuff for us."

Nari made a noise of agreement, settling herself on top of the leather bag.

Hitomi smiled, before her face turned serious as she turned back around. "Let's get rid of this nuisance."

Hitomi jumped up into the sky, breaking through the foliage and out into the open air. Her eyes darted around in search for the witch, her scythe held up defensively. Hitomi blanched when she saw a freezing spell shooting straight for her, hastily spinning her weapon rapidly and deflecting it. She looked in the direction the attack had come from, seeing the witch a distance away.

Hitomi shot herself forward, jumping across the tops of the trees with her scythe at the ready. She swung at and deflected the attacks that came flying her way, trying to send them back towards the witch only for her opponent to dodge all her counterattacks.

Hitomi gritted her teeth in frustration, blocking another spell. She hoped Bakugou was keeping up, but that was hardly on her mind, as the only thing she wanted to do was get rid of this headache. She swung her scythe back, gearing up the same attack that had gotten rid of the witch earlier. With a loud yell, she launched a cerulean wave of energy, creating a gust of wind behind her.

The witch seemed to have learned her lesson, this time creating a shield around herself, nullifying the attack. She cackled behind her barrier, waving her wand around arrogantly. "Like I'd let you pull the same trick on me twice, reaper!"

Hitomi scowled, swinging her scythe rapidly. It sent slash after slash towards the witch, only for each one to be nullified by the witch's spell.

_This isn't working._

She jumped off the tree she was standing on, launching herself towards the witch. Before the witch could react, Hitomi was already in front of her, her scythe's blade positioned high in the air. Using all the force she could muster, Hitomi swung it down onto the witch's shield, the collision of the two making an ear-piercing sound. The blade struggled against the barrier for only a few moments before cracks began to form, spreading across the surface.

Hitomi dug the blade into the shield with all her might, too focused on breaking it to notice the triumphant smirk on the witch's face. Vines sprouted out from the ground underneath her, growing rapidly and spreading across the dirt. They weaved up, twirling around and nearing Hitomi's legs. By the time Hitomi had noticed it was too late, the vines wrapping themselves around her body, pinning her arms to her sides and leaving her unable to slice them away.

_Shit!_

She wriggled in the vines' grasp, struggling to break her arms free. The witch laughed maniacally, her shield dropping as she smiled tauntingly at Hitomi. "Well, well, well," she tutted, twirling her wand in her hand. "Looks like reapers aren't as strong as they're made out to be, after all." She flicked her wrist, the tip of the wand giving off a faint green glow.

Hitomi's eyes widened in horror when one of the vines wrapped around the shaft of her scythe, tightening her fingers around it in a vain attempt to keep it in her grasp.

"This _scythe_ of yours though…" the witch hummed, "that's a different story."

_Fuck! This is what I get for doing the bare minimum!_

"I wonder if souls really hold as much power as they say?"

Right as Hitomi felt the scythe begin to slip through her fingers, a burst of fire shot out from below. It hit the witch dead on, engulfing her and causing her to let out a painful scream. Hitomi looked over her shoulder to see Bakugou running towards them on the ground, the engravings on his sword glowing and releasing small embers.

"You fucking _idiot_!" he yelled, looking furious. "You just ran off by yourself and left me to chase after your dumbass!"

He stopped by the vines holding her captive, the blade of his sword turning bright scorching red. With one simple swing, he cut through the vines at the roots like it was butter, the plants becoming limp and falling to the ground. Hitomi was able to push the vines off of her now with ease, grabbing hold of her scythe and shaking the vines off.

She landed on the ground next to him, looking sheepish. "Sorry…!"

He scowled in response before they turned back to face the witch at the sound of a loud growl, the flames surrounding her dissipating. She was badly burned in several places, looking enraged.

"You… _wretched-_ You're going to regret ever crossing paths with me!"

With a wave of her wand, she sent out a barrage of energy beams, the purple attacks shooting towards them. Bakugou and Hitomi both held their weapons up, blocking and deflecting them with attacks of their own. The witch shrieked, summoning bolts of lightning. They both dove out of the way, the loud thunder reverberating in their ears as the electricity hit the ground. Bakugou swung his sword with a yell, sending another wave of fire that the witch hastily dodged. Seeing an opening, Hitomi jumped forward, swinging her scythe at her. Another shield formed to block it, but it was weaker this time, Hitomi's blade stabbing through it easily. She ripped through it, the barrier breaking apart and shattering.

The witch pulled back to put some distance between herself and the grim reaper, only to leave her more vulnerable to Bakugou's attacks. He sent burst after burst of scorching flames, the witch barely able to dodge them. Some she couldn't avoid, the fire singeing her skin and worsening the burns she'd already obtained.

Eventually she'd had enough, screeching as she lifted her wand into the air. Large transparent spikes formed around the witch in a circle, Hitomi tensing at this new spell. The witch pointed her wand at them, the spikes following suit before shooting forward. Hitomi had no time to think, only instinctively blocking them using her scythe. A few she missed, the spikes grazing her in several places and leaving small tears in her clothes or tiny cuts on her skin.

Hitomi froze when she heard a shrill screech, turning to see one of the spikes had pierced through Bakugou's torso. Blood was leaking out of the wound and staining his clothes, the blonde barely staying upright even with his sword supporting him.

"Bakugou-!"

HItomi was cut off when another spike shot forward, narrowly missing her face. She turned back to face the witch, growling and gripping her scythe tightly.

_I'm ending this _now!

The blue orb at the top of her scythe glowed as Hitomi twirled the weapon, the orb tracing the outline of a circle. A crescent shape glowed within the circle, making the witch falter slightly at the sight. Hitomi swung her scythe back, the orb still shining brightly.

"Don't come back this time!"

Before the witch could conjure up a counter spell or defense, Hitomi swung her scythe in a full arc, the light construct she'd created becoming blinding. It let out a huge blast, engulfing the witch completely.

Hitomi's hair billowed as the blast sent the witch flying back, hearing her scream grow distant. Once it had settled, Hitomi dropped back to the ground, running to Bakugou's side.

"Bakugou!"

His face was contorted in pain, his hand clutching at the spike speared through his stomach.

"Take it out!"

Hitomi did a double take, her eyes furrowing in worry. "What-?"

"_Take it the fuck out!"_

Hitomi gulped, wrapping her arm around the large green spike. She pulled it away, Bakugou letting out agonizing screams of pain and coughing up blood. Hitomi threw the spike to the side, it disappearing into thin air as soon as it hit the ground.

"Shit!" Hitomi cried, finally getting a look at the severity of Bakugou's wound. The hole in his stomach was gushing blood, the blood running down his clothes and staining them dark red.

_Shit. Fuck! What do I do?!_

She looked around frantically, as if there would be something around to aid the human. All she was met with was more shrubbery and trees, becoming more and more frantic.

_There's nothing here that could help him!_

Bakugou's breaths grew heavy, until his sword clattered to the ground, his body following suit. His body went limp, the human now unconscious. Hitomi yelped, kneeling down beside him in a panic and flinching at the pool of blood forming underneath him that was soaking into the dirt.

She let out another swear, grabbing his sword. It was engulfed in flames before it turned back into a small knife, Hitomi storing it in the orb of her scythe.

She let go of her scythe, allowing her to use both hands to pull his body up. The scythe floated horizontally with its blade facing down, ready to take flight. Hitomi staggered over to it, Bakugou's weight making her stumble.

_We need to get out of here first! We can't come across that witch again, and there's nothing I can do for him here…!_

She swung her leg over, helping Bakugou's slack body onto the handle. Gripping her scythe tightly with one hand, she used the other to support him, cringing at the amount of blood that dripped onto the ground. Hitomi held him close as she shot forward, flying past the many trees and her cloak billowing behind her.

"Nari…!" Hitomi called, searching for the fire spirit. "Nari, where are you?!" There was a bright blue glow through the tree trunks in response, Hitomi flying towards it. She approached the will-o-wisp, hearing Nari squeak at the sight she must've been. "Yes, I know he's hurt! Come on! We need to get to a village to get him some help!"

Nari understood immediately, flying to Bakugou's bag and floating under the strap, picking it up. Hitomi grabbed it from her hastily, slinging it over her shoulder as Nari settled into her hood. "You secure?"

There was a noise of agreement, Hitomi's arm tightening around the blonde's body. She shot up into the air, flying across the trees. Hitomi hissed at the sight of the forest that seemed to span for miles, picking up speed.

She looked down at the human she cradled in her arms, his face void of color. Hitomi frowned, her fingers tightening around his shoulder. "Just hang tight, Bakugou."

She flew across the dark sky, scanning below for any indication of human domain. There was nothing for miles, just trees and trees and a few small ponds or swamps. The air was filled with an uneasy silence, Bakugou's haggard breathing barely audible. His chest rose unsteadily, the wound in his stomach still bleeding out. Hitomi bit her lip, upset that she couldn't do a single thing for him.

She heard Nari squeak by her ear, looking up from the blonde. Nari made small noises, pushing against her shoulder avidly, as if trying to gesture something. Hitomi followed the will-o-wisp's gaze, seeing a cluster of tiny, orange lights in the far distance. Her eyes widened as she leaned forward. "That's… a village!" she exclaimed, looking back down at Bakugou. "We're almost there. Just a little further, you'll be okay!"

He groaned quietly in response, shifting slightly. His eyebrows furrowed, his body tensing up before he suddenly let out a loud yell. Hitomi flinched, her arm tightening around Bakugou as he began to twitch, convulsing and jerking around. His yell turned into a scream, his hand grabbing onto Hitomi's cloak like he was holding on for dear life. Hitomi gasped as the hole in his stomach morphed, muscle and skin growing slowly from the sides. Bakugou jolted, Hitomi trying to keep them from falling over as his screams became painful, _agonizing_, like he was being burned alive. Hitomi watched in shock as the skin and muscle grew, fusing together and closing the wound. The skin that covered it now appeared bruised, but the hole was completely gone, as if he hadn't just been skewered alive.

Hitomi shook her head, trying to stay focused as she finally brought them down to the ground, the denseness of the forest now thin. She had landed a safe distance away from the village's entrance to lower the risk of them being seen, her scythe now hovering only a few feet above the ground. Nari flew out of her hood as Hitomi slid off her scythe, keeping Bakugou from falling over as she stepped onto the soil. She stared at his now healed stomach, eyebrows furrowing at the large bruise.

"Nari, time to hide," she said sternly, maneuvering Bakugou and hoisting him up onto her back. Nari flew into Hitomi's cloak clasp as the bluenette staggered slightly under Bakugou's weight, his feet brushing against the ground because of his taller height. Hitomi grabbed her scythe, wavering slightly as she tried to maintain her balance. The orb on the back glowed before the entire weapon turned luminescent, glowing blue and purple before it shot into the clasp. Hitomi was now surrounded in the darkness of night as she readjusted Bakugou on her back, looking over her shoulder. All she could see was the faint outline of his cheek. "Don't you worry, Bakugou," she mumbled, facing forward and beginning to walk to the end of the forest.

"I'll get you somewhere safe, I promise."

…

Hitomi paced around the small room, fiddling with her hands anxiously as she glanced back and forth between the floor and the unconscious human laying in the bed against the wall.

When Hitomi had finally reached the village, stumbling through the entrance with blood-stained clothes and an unconscious man on her back, even more bloody than her, she was rushed to the village healer before she could say a single word. Bakugou had been taken away, straight to the main healer while Hitomi was pulled over by some apprentices. They had checked her for any wounds or injuries (not that they would find any, since she wasn't actually human and all), and after figuring out none of the blood was hers they sent her to the hospital baths to clean up.

Hitomi had cleaned away the blood hastily, her clothes now having faded, light stains that she would have to get rid of later. When she had finally found the healer who was looking over Bakugou, he was just finishing up, putting away his materials.

"_That bruise really is something," the healer said, eyeing Bakugou's stomach that was now wrapped in bandages. Bakugou's shirt and vest hung on the bed frame, still stained with his blood. The healer turned to Hitomi, looking bewildered. "However, I couldn't find a single cut or gash that could've spilled so much blood. You sure the blood isn't yours?"_

_Hitomi nodded. "Yeah, none of it is mine. I… er, I just found him in the woods."_

_The healer scratched his head, getting up from his chair. "Well, there were no other injuries besides that bruise of his. Perhaps he had had to fend off an animal or something of the sort, because there's no opening that could have indicated this blood came from him."_

_Hitomi looked to the side sheepishly, gripping her wrist. "...Right…"_

_The healer made his way to the door, peering at the two of them from over his shoulder. "I'll check up on him again in the morning. It'd probably be best for him to stay here a while; he has no business walking around with a bruise like that, anyway."_

_Hitomi gave another timid nod, before the healer left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the two alone._

Now Hitomi was pacing around the room, anxiously waiting for Bakugou to wake up. She'd let Nari come out, the will-o-wisp sitting at the foot of the bed as she watched the bluenette walk back and forth. Hitomi eventually sighed, making her way to the chair and sitting down. She stared at Bakugou's face, the pained expression he'd had earlier now a peaceful one, his skin cleansed of all the blood. Her eyes trailed down to his stomach, white bandages wrapped around him and covering it completely.

Hitomi leaned back in her chair as she let out another sigh, Nari floating over and sitting in her lap. Hitomi smiled slightly, petting the small ball of fire. She looked back at the bandages around Bakugou's stomach, her smile faltering.

Not long ago, that stomach had just been impaled. It'd had a large, gaping hole in it, gushing pools and pools of blood. And when Hitomi saw that, the sight of Bakugou being skewered alive, she'd forgotten all about his immortality.

Because all she saw… was a human. A human that bled, just like everyone else, that felt _pain_, just like everyone else. A human that looked like he was about to _die._

And she'd panicked, wanting to get him some help because all she saw was a young human that still had so much of his life left to live.

Bakugou shifted, his face scrunching up in a grimace. Hitomi straightened, leaning forward slightly in anticipation. Nari floated up out of her lap, hovering by her head as the two watched Bakugou regain consciousness. He groaned, eyebrows furrowing before he slowly opened his eyes, squinting from the light of the lanterns in the room.

"Where…"

"I brought you to a hospital," Hitomi answered before he could even finish. His eyes opened fully, surprised to see her and now wide awake.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Hitomi puffed her cheeks out, placing her hands on the bed. "I just said I brought you here! I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Bakugou scoffed, moving to sit up before he let out a hiss, clutching his stomach.

Hitomi rushed to cradle his head, helping him up gingerly. "Don't move so quickly! That wound may have closed up, but you still have a pretty bad bruise."

Bakugou glanced down at the bandages around his stomach, scowling before he tugged at them, intending to take them off. Hitomi gasped, grabbing his hands to stop him.

"What are you doing?"

Bakugou glared at her, trying to move his hands against Hitomi's tight grip. "I don't need these! It'll be gone by tomorrow, and I need to be out of here by then! I can't let them find out what I am!"

Hitomi faltered slightly, before she pushed his hands away, making him growl. "Hey-!"

"_No,_" Hitomi said sternly. "You need to rest first! At least wait until it doesn't hurt to move before you decide to get up and leave!"

Nari nodded avidly beside her, Bakugou looking annoyed with the two supernatural creatures. He let out a huff, looking away.

"_Fine_," grumbled, running his hand through his hair. "If it'll get you to shut up, fine. But I'm leaving before sunrise. Like hell I'm letting them find out I'm immortal."

Hitomi relaxed, sitting back in her chair. "Right, you're…"

"You saw what happened, didn't you?" he asked, red eyes piercing into her. "That painful shit I have to deal with?"

Hitomi nodded sympathetically, her eyes falling to her hands in her lap. "Yeah. I'm… I'm sorry you have to go through that."

Bakugou's hand went back to his lap, the blonde turning to look out the window. "I don't want your sympathy. Just don't mindlessly talk about how I can't die as if I'm someone like you. And don't run your mouth about how I'm immortal either. I got enough shit to deal with already."

"I won't." Hitomi meant it wholeheartedly. She didn't want to bring him more suffering than he already had. That would be just plain cruel. If it had been another reaper, maybe they would, but she never wanted to be like them.

Hitomi's eyes widened slightly as her mind drifted back to the conversation they had been having earlier, recalling what she had accidentally shared. She looked back at Bakugou, her thoughts already running rampant.

_What if he already forgot about what I told him?_

_No… he seems like someone who'd remember. I need to ask, at least._

"Uh, by the way…"

Bakugou turned away from the window, an eyebrow raised as Hitomi timidly fiddled with her hands.

"Since we're on the topic of keeping secrets, ah…" Hitomi's eyes darted to the side, unable to hold his stare. "I'd like to kindly ask you to… um, keep what I told you earlier to yourself, too."

"Hah?" Bakugou huffed. "Earlier?"

_Shit! He doesn't remember! I shouldn't have brought it up!_

Hitomi held her hands up, waving them sheepishly. "Ahhh, if you don't remember, that's fine too! Better, actually, if you forgot about what I said!"

Bakugou looked at her disdainfully. "Are you talking about when you were going on about how reapers disappear or some shit when they don't do what they're supposed to?"

Hitomi cringed, screaming at herself internally.

_Stupid! Idiot! You shouldn't have said anything!_

She sighed defeatedly, Nari floating back to her lap to comfort her. Hitomi pet the will-o-wisp, frowning. "...Yeah. That. Can you keep that to yourself?"

Bakugou scoffed, crossing his arms. "Why? That seems like some pretty useful information for getting rid of you fuckers. The less of you there are, the less humans have to needlessly suffer at your hands."

Hitomi brushed the "fucker" comment aside, finally looking him in the eye again. "Honestly, I would be inclined to agree with you… I do genuinely believe reapers don't need to be causing unecessary torture. But, Bakugou… do you remember what I said before that part? If reapers aren't doing their jobs, the balance between life and death gets altered."

Her eyes fell back to Nari, scratching the spirit's cheek with her finger. "What's more, a grim reaper's scythe is already sought after enough as it is; you saw it yourself with that witch we fought. If people found out that reapers who neglected to enforce death were gotten rid of, that would only embolden creatures to try and steal our weapons even more. And do you understand what it means for mortals to get their hands on reapers' scythes?"

She looked up to see Bakugou tense, his eyes widening. She swore she saw a hint of fear in those red irises, but before she could dwell too much on it, his eyes were filled with anger. Bakugou scowled.

"It means they have the ability to take souls."

Hitomi nodded, her expression grim as she spoke. "Exactly. A grim reaper's scythe doesn't just allow you to meddle with life itself; it grants you the power to take a person's _soul_, their entire sense of _being_ in its purest, most potent form. Grim reapers understand how to handle that, and are built to withstand it. But mortals...?"

"Mortals… don't," Bakugou finished for her. His eyes narrowed, one of his hands drifting to his chest. "They get engulfed in it, drown in the power granted by souls… and they can even get driven to madness by it."

Hitomi looked surprised, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Yes. How did you-?"

"Because the fucking witch who cursed me had her hands on a reaper's scythe."

Hitomi froze, her eyes widening in horror. "...What?"

"The motherfucker who cursed me to live like this had a scythe," Bakugou growled, gritting his teeth. "She was playing God, meddling with souls left and right. My guess is that she was trying to find a way to grant mortal souls immortality."

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed, a twisting feeling in her stomach as she hung on to Bakugou's every word.

"The bitch was fucking insane." Bakugou brought a hand up to his face, cradling his forehead. "Tampering with human souls, dissecting people and taking them apart. When I finally came across her, I guess that was around the time she'd finally figured it all out."

"What… do you mean?" Hitomi mumbled, fearing what came next.

Bakugou let out a snarl, his eyes filled with pure hatred. "She decided to make _me_ her little experiment. She sliced my chest open with the damn scythe, giving her direct access to my soul. And you know what she did? She fucking _cursed_ it. She cursed my soul, fusing it with my heart. And now, I can never fucking die. I still feel pain, bleed out, get my bones broken just like any other normal person, but my heart will never stop beating. Instead of dying, I'll just get put back together. Wounds will close up, skin gets fused back together, bones snap back into place. The pain of getting ripped apart and being stitched back together is worse than anything a sick fuck could even _dream_ of."

He looked at Hitomi, the dark look in his eyes making her flinch back.

"It's a fate _worse_ than death."

…

Hitomi had left Bakugou's room after their conversation, sitting outside at the fountain in the hospital's courtyard to process everything she'd just heard. He had agreed not to say anything about what she had accidentally shared, saying something along the lines of "_I don't really give a shit about what you reapers have to deal with anyway," _before she left. Now she was alone outside, Nari hovering next to her as she stared at her reflection in the water.

A fate… _worse_ than death.

It sounded _awful_.

Hitomi would never truly be able to understand what he went through, because she wasn't a human like him anymore. She had no heart, no _mortal_ limitations to her body like he did. Sure, she could get hurt, from things like other supernatural beings or enchanted objects, but at the end of the day, she would never, _ever_ feel the pain of being on the brink of death. Because she was a harbinger of death itself.

Death was something every mortal being feared. It was seen by mortals as the worst fate imaginable, because once you died, it was irreversible. There was no going back. Some had tried, all had failed. Death was permanent.

But now, Hitomi had come across someone who suffered a fate _worse_ than death itself.

Grim reapers loved to make people suffer. It was cruel, _evil_, and Hitomi hated it. She vowed to never be that way, to never toy with people's lives before she brought them to their end. It put her at risk sometimes, and earned her suspicious looks, of course, but she couldn't bring herself to care about what other reapers thought of her. However, as much as grim reapers liked to play with lives, at the very least, the suffering they caused _always_, without a doubt, eventually came to an end.

But this human, Katsuki Bakugou, was cursed to a life of suffering that was _never ending._

Just how long had it been this way for him?

And… was this witch, this _monster_ that ruined him, still out there? Did she still have her hands on a reaper's scythe? Did she still tamper with mortal souls? _Had she figured out how to achieve true immortality?_

Hitomi sighed, picking up a stray pebble and tossing it into the water. The tiny rock made a small splash, causing ripples to spread throughout the surface.

"This whole thing is crazy, Nari," she mumbled, watching the water. She was tired of everything. All she'd wanted was to stop taking lives away, and relearn what it was like to be human. She only ever did what she had to to avoid whatever punishment the Level Ones had in store.

Now she'd come across a human, who she couldn't help but feel sorry for. It was bad, it was _wrong_, for a grim reaper to feel any sort of way over a human, because grim reapers had to take lives no matter what in order to maintain balance. If you felt anything for them, you hesitated. The hesitation turned to reluctance, the reluctance turned to unwillingness, and the unwillingness eventually turned to outright refusal. And when grim reapers refused to fulfill their purpose, there were consequences.

But it was too late for Hitomi to take back how she felt. She couldn't take back crashing into him, couldn't take back telling him how she felt about being what she was, couldn't take back fighting together with him. She couldn't take back worrying over him, couldn't take back wanting to preserve all the life he had left to live, couldn't take back wanting to _help_ him and end his suffering.

She had already become too involved.

Hitomi's head snapped up when she heard a door open, seeing Bakugou walk out, closing the door quietly. He was fully dressed, save for the rip in the middle of his vest. The white and bloodied shirt he wore underneath it had been replaced with a new one, pristine and clear of any dirt. Hitomi got up from the fountain ledge, opening her mouth to say something as he walked across the courtyard to the hospital's exit.

He brushed past her without even a glance, looking through his bag and leaving Hitomi's mouth hanging open as she watched him walk away.

"Bakugou, wait…!"

The blonde stopped, looking up from his bag and over his shoulder at her.

Hitomi drew a blank, holding her hand to her chest as she struggled to speak. "I… uh… You're leaving already? Is it healed?"

Bakugou's eyes narrowed, his hand gripping his bag strap. "The bruise is still there, but I can't stay here. I need to leave, so that's exactly what I'm doing."

Hitomi stepped forward hesitantly, Nari hovering over her shoulder. "Where are you going to go…?"

Bakugou turned towards the door, grabbing the handle. "Somewhere," he muttered. "Out of this town. I'm not risking people recognizing me and figuring out I'm not normal." He gave her another glance over his shoulder, red eyes staring into gray ones. "Why? Still think you can get my soul out of me?"

"No…!" Hitomi spluttered, holding her hands up. "No… I…"

"Then there's no reason for us to stick together," Bakugou huffed, opening the door.

"Uh, right…" Hitomi lowered her hands, trying to think of something, _anything,_ else to say.

What could she even say to him, anyway?

She was a grim reaper, he was a human, and grim reapers were _not supposed to get involved with humans_ unless it was to impose death.

"I… I guess this is goodbye, then," Hitomi said timidly, her gaze falling to the floor.

Bakugou snorted, stepping through the doorway. "Yeah, I guess it is."

He turned away and Hitomi watched, speechless as he closed the door behind him, the small sound echoing through the small courtyard. Hitomi's shoulders slumped, her eyes filled with regret.

Nari made a questioning noise, her fire illuminating Hitomi's somber expression. "It's… better this way, if I let him go, Nari. After all, what am I supposed to do? I'm not allowed to get involved, and I have a job I need to do."

She made her way to the exit, stepping through the doors into the town. Nari hid under her cloak, out of view from the sparse amount of people still milling about in the late night.

As Hitomi closed the door, she couldn't help but glance around, trying to find a trace of blonde, spiky hair.

He was already gone.

Hitomi shook her head, slapping her cheeks and scolding herself. "No!" she hissed, holding her cheeks. "You're going your separate ways now. He's just a memory, a one-note interaction just like all the other humans you've talked to."

Hitomi walked briskly through the town, making her way past all the buildings, the shops and houses. Her eyes kept glancing around, searching and dismissing everything she saw that wasn't what she was looking for. Eventually, she made it to the other side, standing at the edge of the village's other entrance. She sighed, holding her arms as she walked across the bridge above the small stream.

"It's better this way," Hitomi whispered to herself, stopping in front of a sign. The path diverged into three different directions, Hitomi making her way down the middle one. Nari flew out from under her cloak, now floating beside her as they left the village. "It's better not to get involved."

The walk was quiet, the sounds of crickets chirping and Hitomi's steps filling the silence. Soon, the path led her into a grove of trees, the bluenette glancing around to see if anyone was nearby. Once she was sure she was alone, her hand went to her cloak clasp, summoning her scythe. The purple and blue light solidified, fading to reveal her weapon. Right as Hitomi was about to swing her leg over, her eyes fell on the blue orb on the back.

…Wait.

She tapped it, making it glow and reaching into the light. Her eyes widened as she pulled out a knife, a wave of realization hitting her.

Oh.

"This… this is Bakugou's!" Hitomi exclaimed, looking at Nari in worry. "I still have it— I completely forgot to give it back to him…!" She hopped onto her scythe, floating up into the air and Nari following suit. Once she was high enough in the sky, Hitomi looked down at the knife, her thumb tracing over the engraving on the blade.

_It's best to just let him go._

_It's best to not get involved, more than you already did._

Hitomi hesitated, her fingers tightening around the hilt. _Don't get involved_, she chanted in her head, over and over again. _Don't get involved. Don't get involved. If you do, there may be no chance of letting him go._

Hitomi bit her lip, thoughts running rampant through her mind.

She truly, genuinely wanted to help him. She wanted him to stop suffering, find the witch who'd caused it, put an end to the witch's schemes. However, at the same time, Hitomi was still a little bit selfish.

She had her own wants, her own desires, wanting to experience human life as much as she could. But she couldn't, because she was a hesitant grim reaper, and grim reapers who didn't bring in many souls were always under close watch. If she wanted to get the higher ups off her back, get them to stop monitoring her, she had to start actively spending time cultivating souls for death, or bring in a lot more by cutting lives short.

And Hitomi vowed she would never do the latter. Ending lives when they still had a lot of time left. After all, she hated killing.

But what about if you were cultivating an immortal, yet still, undoubtedly, _human_ soul? Would that get them to leave her alone? If she told them she was trying to find a way to separate this human's cursed soul from his heart?

After all, if you found a way to claim an immortal's soul and make them yours, no matter what they were or used to be, it granted you so much power that you would never have any need to take mortal lives again. That was what Level One reapers had done, why they no longer came down to Earth and only watched over the other Levels instead.

Was this a loophole Hitomi could use, in order to take part in and understand human life like she wanted?

And well, if she did this, it didn't mean she had to sever his soul right away. She could leave him alone, let him live his life afterwards, and come back to claim it when he reached his old age later on. And at the same time, she would be helping him like she wanted to, ending the eternal suffering he'd been forced into.

_Reapers don't get involved with humans._

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed, her hand gripping the knife's handle so tightly now her fingertips were white.

Well, fuck that.

She'd already gotten involved the moment she crashed into him.

"Nari," Hitomi began, gripping her scythe tightly, "we're going to find him." Nari let out a squeak, settling on the reaper's shoulder. Hitomi's expression looked serious, determined, her eyes scanning the ground below. "Let me know if you spot him, okay?" There was a noise of agreement, and Hitomi began flying back the way she came, searching for that unique spiky blonde hair. She stopped when she reached the sign where the paths split, looking back and forth between the left and right ones. "Which way do you think he went?"

Nari flew off her shoulder to Hitomi's right, the will-o-wisp's flame brightening slightly as she gestured excitedly in that direction. Hitomi followed her gaze, looking down the left path and seeing a small silhouette receding.

"Think that's him?"

Nari nodded, before settling into Hitomi's hood, ready to go. Hitomi smiled slightly, before she flew forward, down the path the human had taken. Unlike the one that led into a grove, this path was more sparse, leading to another bridge over a river that Hitomi guessed the stream at the town's edge flowed into.

As she drew closer, Hitomi was able to make out spiky hair, picking up speed. She soon saw that spiky hair was _blonde_ from the moonlight, flying down towards the ground. Right as he was making his way over the bridge, Hitomi called his name, her voice breaking the quiet of night.

"Bakugou!"

The blonde paused in the middle of the bridge, looking over his shoulder and his eyes widening at the sight of her approaching. "You…! Are you following me?!"

Hitomi stopped in front of him, jumping off of her scythe as Nari flew out of her hood. Hitomi held her scythe upright before she held her other hand out, showing him his knife.

"You… forgot this."

Bakugou's mouth opened slightly in surprise, his hand flying to his belt under his vest. He found his sheath was empty, turning back to Hitomi and quickly grabbing the knife from her hand.

"When you fainted earlier, I didn't know where to put it," Hitomi laughed, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "So I stored it in my scythe. I meant to return it earlier, but I… ah… got distracted." Hitomi clapped her hands together, wearing a timid smile. "Sorry for that!"

Bakugou stared at her for a moment before looking to the side, storing his knife away. "...Whatever. I didn't even realize it was missing, so, uh…" His lips pursed, his voice becoming a mumble. "...Thanks. For returning it."

Hitomi nodded in response before she looked away as well, falling silent. Bakugou took that as their conversation ending there, scratching the back of his head and turning away.

"Well, if that was all you're here for, I'm gonna-"

"That wasn't all…!" Hitomi spluttered, blushing slightly. "I didn't come back here… just for that."

Bakugou squinted at her, suspicion in his eyes. "Then what's the _real_ reason you're here?"

Hitomi took a deep breath, taking a moment to steel her nerves in anticipation of what she was going to say. She straightened her shoulders, facing him fully. "I want to come with you."

Bakugou raised a brow. "Huh? Why?"

"You're searching for a way to lift your curse, right?" Hitomi asked him. "I want to help you. What happened to you… you didn't deserve it. No one deserves to have that happen to them. It's awful, atrocious, and I wouldn't want to wish that upon _anyone._" Hitomi's hand drifted to her clasp, her fingers tracing over the embellishments. "I don't like seeing humans suffer. I've been witnessing it for decades, and I've never been able to do anything for them. I couldn't stop the fates reapers had decided for them." Hitomi's hand lowered, her grip tightening around her scythe as she looked at the ground. "But _you_… you're suffering right now, right in front of me, and I _can_ do something about it. At least, I think I can. That's why I want to come with you, so I can help you figure out a way to break your curse."

She stared at her shoes, falling silent as she waited for Bakugou's answer. He didn't say anything for several moments, likely contemplating Hitomi's words.

"You're getting something out of doing this."

Hitomi's eyes widened, her body tensing. She looked up at him, appalled he'd been able to read between the lines. Bakugou scoffed at her reaction, the suspicion in his eyes turning into animosity. "Fucking figures."

Hitomi's shoulders slumped slightly, the girl looking away in shame. "...I won't lie to you. There is some personal gain in this… but not for the reasons you think." Hitomi gripped her scythe with both hands now, holding it to her chest. "I don't know what it's like to be human, but… I _want_ to. I know I already had my turn, and it's not exactly right, _frowned upon_, even, but that doesn't change how I feel. I _want_ to understand. I also genuinely do want to help you. And if I come with you, I would be able to do both."

She looked back at him, seeing those red eyes searching her for any signs of deceit. The blonde crossed his arms, glaring down at her.

"This isn't some sick kind of long con in an attempt to take my soul?"

Hitomi shook her head in denial. "It's not. Even if I did want your soul in the end, I would only take it after you've lived a fulfilling life to your old age." She could feel Nari hovering by her head, appreciating the warmth of the spirit's flame. "But that's not my priority right now. What _is_ my priority is breaking your curse, so you can live that life."

Bakugou still looked doubtful, his mouth in a deep frown.

"Besides," Hitomi continued, "if there's anyone that could help you break a curse cast on your soul, what better than a creature that deals with souls themselves?"

She could see the calculation behind his eyes, still mulling her words over. Hitomi took another deep breath, feeling Nari had settled on her shoulder to comfort her. "Katsuki Bakugou," she began. "You allow me to come with you and experience human life first-hand, and in exchange, I'll be helping you lift your curse of immortality. You're not going to be the one losing anything in this situation, because my end goal isn't your life. You'd only be gaining from this. So…"

She held her hand out, Bakugou staring at her intently. "Do you accept?"

Bakugou looked back and forth between her hand and her face, an air of skepticism still around him. Hitomi faltered slightly, before she blushed, looking down at her hand.

"Ah… was this the right thing you're supposed to do in this sort of situation?" She pulled her hand back, staring at her palm in embarrassment. "A… handshake? That's what humans do when making an agreement, right…? Or… was it something else?"

Bakugou's eyes widened, silent for a moment before he suddenly covered his mouth, a quiet huff escaping his lips. Hitomi looked at him in confusion before he let out a small snicker, the blonde looking away.

"What…" Hitomi's blush deepened as she stepped back slightly. "Was that wrong?"

Bakugou's snickers turned into laughs, his voice echoing in the night. His mouth was in a small smile, his shoulders shaking as he laughed. Hitomi looked away, pulling her hood up in an attempt to hide her red face.

"Holy shit," Bakugou snorted, his lips turned up in a smirk. "I guess you really _are_ a dumbass."

Hitomi grumbled, keeping her eyes glued to the river below. "Well, excuse me for not knowing every little thing about human mannerisms…! I've tried to learn everything I can, but I guess I used the wrong one in this situation."

Bakugou shook his head, his snickers slowly fading away. "Nah. That was the right one. Not my fault you ended up doubting yourself, though."

Hitomi could feel her blush had spread to her ears now, Nari's fire only adding to the warmth she felt on her face. "You didn't have to laugh at me."

"I didn't," Bakugou replied, "but it was funny." His smirk disappeared, his expression turning serious now. "So… you really do just want to understand humans."

Hitomi lowered her hood, nodding quietly. "Yeah. I do."

"And all I have to do to get your help in lifting my curse is let you tag along?"

Another nod. "That's right." Hitomi turned to face him, her cheeks still a slight pink as she held her hand out. "So… what's your answer?"

Bakugou looked down at her hand, Hitomi unable to read his expression. He didn't say anything, or make any move to shake it, causing disappointment to slowly form in Hitomi's chest. Right as she was about to lower her hand, Bakugou grabbed it, red eyes staring into silver.

"Deal, Moon Face."

_|| fin ||_

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry, excuse my language but how the FUCK did this end up as long as it did. 40 pages. **_**14,061 words.**_ **ALDGHGFJHALGKSDH WHAT THE HECK**

**I thought this was gonna be like,,, 5000 words. BOY WAS I SO WRONG AUUUGUGHHAH**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this special! I'm really sorry I wasn't able to get it out in time for Halloween :( I really tried my best to finish it before the spoopy mood was already gone but it ended up waaaay longer than I expected, and I also had to deal with other responsibilities (aka a BUTTLOAD of schoolwork) last week that just didn't leave me with enough free time to meet the deadline. Believe me, I really tried 😭 I even tried pulling all nighters (although the latest I stayed up was on Friday night to 4 am lol) to finish it in time but it just didn't work out 😔**

**This'll most likely be a one-off AU! I don't really have any big plans for it, since I only came up with the concept specifically for Halloween. There were some other ideas for the AU I came up with that I wasn't able to fit in, such as where Bakugou's enchanted knife comes from (a certain childhood friend wink wink :3) and what some of the other members of Class 1-A would be (Kiri would most likely be a vampire here for example :D), but I don't think I'll be expanding on this story in the future.**

**Regardless, I hope you liked reading it! And if the writing seemed odd in any places (the fight scenes ;-;) or Bakugou seemed out of character, I apologize for that 😅 It's been a while since I wrote anything and lots of portions of this were written late at night by a sleep-deprived student (yours truly) 😂**

**See you all next time! :)**


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